Before He Disappeared
by My Mind is a Nomad
Summary: Ever wondered how the Ghost-Mystery Skulls group formed in the first place? Well you're in luck! Meet antisocial Lewis Hinsey, a young teen who gets through school days by reading horror books. That all changes though when he meets Vivi Hart, all out horror lover, in the most normal way. Ever. Read about Lewis's adventure about making friends, falling in love, and hunting ghosts.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- The Girl Dressed in Blue and the Boy Who Loved Books**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the beautiful works of Mystery Ben, sadly. I only own my ideas. And this computer. That is all.**

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><p>"Class, collect your things and go over to the side of the room. You all are being assigned new seats," My teacher announced, to the dismay of pretty much my whole class.<p>

The entire class erupted into groans and complains, myself included. It was the last period of the day, Algebra Honors. The one thing I liked about my Algebra class was the seating. My assigned desk was in the left corner of the back row, right by the windows. There was also a bookshelf wedged between the side of my desk and the wall, so I was able to rest my arm on it. Plus, since I was in the back corner, away from my teacher's prying eyes, I was called on less and the teacher wasn't able to see the books I was reading under the desk. Sitting in the back row was pure bliss.

And then she took it away from me.

I snatched my tower of textbooks and horror novels off my desk and joined the rest of the class by the right hand side of the classroom. Only then did I realize how many students this class had. Why, you ask? Because everyone kept bumping into me on accident. At least I think it was on accident. We were in a crowded space, and I'm a big dude, so it was very tight. Being 6'3" did not help in this case. I paraded out of the swarm of students and stood in the corner, waiting for my name to be called.

"Lewis Hinsey..?" My teacher called, making my name sound like a question. She motioned to a desk smack in the middle of the room. I sighed. Just where I wanted to be seated, in the center of the room. I miss my corner.

I took a seat in the tiny, navy blue chair provided for me and placed my stack of books on my new desk. I quickly took notice of the poorly scribbled dildo etched into my desk. I sighed, thinking it could only get worse if I was seated next to any of my more... Eccentric classmates. Hopefully I won't be placed by any class clowns. That would attract even more attention to me, on top of my height and being placed in dead center of the classroom.

"Vivian Hart, go ahead and take a seat on the left hand side of Mister Hinsey." I didn't know who my teacher was talking about until a short girl with a cotton candy blue bob slid into the seat next to me. I've seen her around, but I didn't know her on a first name basis. I barely know anyone on a first name basis, despite already being a sophomore.

"Alright class," Mrs. Tiemann announced as she began to go off on her usual class lecture. I stopped listening the second she began talking math and pulled out one of my library books. You may be thinking, how am I even in Algebra Honors if I barely pay attention in class? Well, let's just say I know this crap already. Math comes very easily to me, like all of my other classes. I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty smart. I excel in math, but that doesn't mean I like it. I'd much rather read my stash of horror novels from the local library.

I love the horror genre. Not so much in movies, but mystery and suspense in books just drives me nuts. I've read a lot of classic horror stories, such as The Shining and Helter Skelter, but I more so enjoy modern stories. Especially ones about ghosts. Demons and other supernatural beings are okay, but there was something about ghosts that really appeals to me.

I opened the book I was currently reading and immersed myself into the imaginary world of Tess McKinney, a young paranormal investigator and the main character of Ghost Whisperer. I enjoyed this novel so far because I found its representation of ghosts interesting. Unlike most books, where ghosts were threatening and vengeful, the ghosts in this book were regular people scared and confused about their passing. I only started it yesterday and I was already halfway done-

Mrs. Tiemann pried the book out of my hands and scolded, her raspy voice crackling, "You may want to pay attention to what I'm saying Mister Hinsey, otherwise you might not receive a passing grade on your project!"

I could feel the heat on my cheeks as I began to blush furiously. "I'm sorry, what project?"

"Class, could someone fill in our careless friend on the project I was just discussing?" By now my entire face was a bright shade of red. Blushing was a terrible habit of mine and it embarrassed me quite a lot.

A fellow student of mine raised his hand and said, "We are doing a partner project where we are given a budget of $2,000 dollars and we are to plan a road trip where the money will be used to pay for gas, food, attractions, and any hotel expenses. We have to work with the people next to us. And it's due in two weeks."

"Sorry for my carelessness, Mrs. Tiemann. I'll remember to pay more attention in class now." I mumbled sheepishly, failing miserably at hiding my reddened cheeks. The teacher glared back at me momentarily, but then she continued talking and I didn't receive a detention. I honestly thought I'd get one, so it was a great relief. My parents would murder me if I got into any disciplinary trouble at school. I recall a time in middle school where I got a detention for tardies and they were practically inches close to pushing me off a cliff when I showed them the pink slip of doom.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and tried to focus on what my wrinkly, old teacher was saying. "I'm passing out these rubrics on what you need to include in your project. You and your partner won't need to present your project, but daily expense journal should be typed and completed. Now, before I give you the next half hour of class to work, does anyone have questions regarding the project?"

One of the class clowns, who happened to be sitting in my old desk, ceased his chuckling and asked, "Do we actually get money to go on these road trips?"

My teacher sighed and adjusted her coke-bottle glasses. "No Kyle, these are not for actual road trips. This project was merely assigned to teach you how to apply mathematics to the real world." She threw a glare at him and his friends to put an end to their muffled laughter. "Now get to work, these are due in two weeks!"

I turned to my blue haired partner and mumbled, "I'm Lewis. Lewis Hinsey."

"My name's Vivian, but you can call me Vivi," she adjusted her pink-tinted glasses. They seemed to be the only thing she was wearing that wasn't blue. She wore a blue sweater, a blue skirt, blue socks and shoes, a blue scarf, a blue headband, even her eyes were blue! All of the blue was just so overwhelming. "By the way, were you reading Ghost Whisperer?"

I instantly perked up when her question fully processed in my mind. "Yeah, have you ever read it? I'm at the part where Tess is communicating with the ghost children in that old mansion. I'm not finished yet, so don't spoil it for me if you have finished."

"Oh it's such a great book! I love the fantastic character development and how accurate ghost hunting in real life is compared to in the book! It's a shame the teacher caught you reading it.."

"I know.. So anyway, what's up with this road trip project?" I quickly scanned the rubric and glanced back at Vivi. "We basically have to make an expense journal for an imaginary vacation? Seems easy."

"Yeah, it'll be considerably easy with a math genius like you. What destination will we pick though?" Vivi asked, twirling her royal blue scarf.

"Let's go with one of the most haunted locations in the states, like-" I began.

"The Stanley Hotel! In Colorado! It's crazy haunted I heard! Stephen King even based his book, The Shining, off of it!" Vivi explained enthusiastically, practically bouncing up and down. "This project is gonna turn out perfect! With your math skills and my research, our project will surely get an A plus!"

This girl sure as hell had a lot of energy. She reminds me of the time when one of my younger cousins got ahold of a Monster energy drink. Bouncing off the walls, overcome with excitement. It must be fun being her. "Okay, so tonight you'll look up gas prices and I'll get some information on other attractions."

"Sure thing, Lewis!" Vivi flashed a huge smiled as the bell rang. "Well, that marks the end of the day! Bye Lewis!"

To my surprise, she gave me a quick hug and patted my head. I stared at Vivi skeptically as she continued rambling. "Oh your hair is so soft and fluffy! Like a big purple pompadour poof! Well, gotta go. Bye partner!"

I watched in pure awe as the blue clad girl leave the classroom. "What just happened..?" I thought to myself. Either way, I knew these next two weeks were going to be very interesting.

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><p><strong>(AN: So I hopped on the bandwagon and I'm writing a fanfic for the animated music video Ghost by Mystery Skulls! I'm obsessed with everything from the song to the characters, so I have to write this. I'm gonna torture y'all by only posting the first chapter tonight. Sorry xD But I have 5.1 chapters written and I promise to post them all the second I finish the sixth! Until then, I hope you enjoyed this! Please review! Tell me what you think!**

**PS: Trust me, it'll get interesting quickly.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Thank Fuck it's Friday**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Ghost AMV, all characters belong to Mystery Ben and company.**

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><p>I could feel the sun pour into my bedroom when someone, probably one of my parents, opened the window blinds. I groggily turned on my side, waiting for one of them to shake me fully awake. I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping, so waking up wasn't ever the highlight of my day. I yawned and burrowed into my warm sheets and blankets.<p>

"Lewis, it's time to get up," my mother announced, her voice resounding in my ears. "It's Friday today, Bud. You won't have to wake up for another hour or so tomorrow. C'mon. If you sleep in any longer you're bound to miss the bus."

With that I sat up, my eyes blinded by the sunlight. "Is my bedroom always this bright?" I yawned.

My mom nodded and put her hands on her hips. "Now start getting dressed. You can't go to school in your pajamas. I'll be making breakfast, although you should know how to make your own meals by now. You're sixteen you know!" She sighed and left the room, her hairsprayed purple mountain bouncing with each step.

After the door was closed, I considered hopping back into bed but knew I shouldn't. Instead, I wearily pulled my drawer open and grabbed my usual attire. Purple pants, a purple vest, a purple tie... "Maybe I should change it up for once," I said to myself as I switched my oh-so-manly purple pants for blue jeans. I then put on a purple sweatshirt and shoved my purple vest back in the drawer. As you can tell, I wear a ton of purple and it only looks stranger with my purple hair. It's not like I wanted a completely purple wardrobe though. It's hard to find fitting clothes when you're 6'3", and I grab anything that fits. Most of it just so happens to be purple.

I snatched my backpack off the floor and glanced at my long mirror attached to the door. I was dressed, but my plum colored hair was all over the place, sticking up in places I didn't even know were possible. I could only shape it into this old-fashioned pompadour style that made me look even taller. As I headed to the bathroom to tame to poof, I also took note of my weary violet eyes, reflecting my mood. Well they were blue, but as I aged through middle school they seemed to appear more and more purple.

I quickly combed my hair to its usual style and went off to the kitchen for breakfast. There my mom was setting the table and my dad was just about to leave for work. He briefly grinned at me and gave me a hug. It was a bit awkward, considering I was four inches taller than him. He made a lame attempt at ruffling my hair and then went out the door. I sat down at the table and quickly ate, since I had to be at the bus stop in ten minutes. I said my goodbyes and headed off to my personal hellhole: high school.

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><p>My first three classes flew by like a breeze. Probably because they're my favorite subjects, English, Extreme Art, and AP History. If you weren't able to tell already, I prefer classes that revolve around art and stories rather than classes with formulas and equations. Speaking of which-<p>

"OOF!"

My thoughts were interrupted by the rather small boy that bumped right into me. He fell to the ground, startled by the surprise. "I'm sorry," He said, holding up his hands. Blushing madly, I knelt down and helped him gather his books. "Thanks man," The stranger said, running a hand through his strawberry blond, multicolored spikes. He stood up as I handed him his books and he was gone as faster than he came. I shook it off and headed off to Chemistry.

I was met with my Chem teacher, Mr. Roland, who was a much nicer (and younger) teacher than Mrs. Tiemann. "Ayy Lewis!" He smiled through his thick brown beard. "Will you be signing up for boys' basketball this year? I'm head coach, so if you are just come to me! You know you're built for it after all."

"Thanks for the offer but I'm not really into sports." I explained. "I'll consider it though."

Not.

"Great, you'd be a great addition for the team," my teacher replied as the bell rang, marking the start of class. I trudged over to my assigned lab table and took a seat. I took out my textbooks and slid my book under it. It was easier to read in Mr. Roland's class because he always got very caught up in his lectures. He'd just go on and on and on until class is over and it's too late to assign homework. I opened the book and began reading.

Ghost Whisperer was centered on Tess McKinney, a teenage psychic medium who conducted paranormal investigation all over her small town with the company of her two friends, Adrianne and Marcus. The ghosts in that book were broken, abandoned souls who only caused trouble for the living out of confusions. It wasn't like your usual demon possession poltergeist story. That's what I enjoyed about the novel so much.

Once I finished this book, probably sometime this afternoon, I would probably spend the weekend finishing my other library books and then browse through creepypasta. Creepypasta wiki was a beautiful website because there's so much to read and there's tons of genres. I read anything I can find, but I prefer psychological horror and beings genres. Although I enjoy reading creepypasta, there's some stories that are either poorly written or just go way too far in the gore department. I'll admit, some of the content on there is a total mind warp, but that doesn't stop me from reading it. Thinking about creepypasta made me want to go on right this second and start reading. But I didn't have my laptop with me and unfortunately, I don't know the wifi password for the school.

"Alright, I'll be passing out this worksheet for homework. It's due after the weekend, so you'll have plenty of time to finish it." The class groaned in unison. I sighed and passed back the papers. I scanned the sheet. It looked fairly easy. I started scribbling down answers when I noticed the girl next to me was glancing at my paper occasionally, then writing on her sheet and pausing to wait for me to start writing again. Usually I would hide my paper from someone who's copying me, but I got an idea that would prove to be fun. I began writing down random bullshit answers in larger letters, so she would definitely see it. Then I left my paper sitting there for her to see and pulled out my book.

I read until the girl stood up and placed her sheet in the homework bin on Mr. Roland's desk. It was only after she sat back down when I took my worksheet, erased all of my fake answers, and actually worked on it. I finished quickly, and turned to see my classmate staring back at me in shock as if I had just betrayed her. Trying not to smile, I got up and turned in my homework, feeling satisfaction from outsmarting someone. Sure, I did feel a little bad for her. Chemistry isn't an easy class. But I think she needed to learn a lesson about copying. So I taught her.

The bell began chiming yet again and I left class, feeling a bit evil, but proud of myself. Maybe this day isn't gonna be so bad.

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><p>"What's the deal, kid?" I heard from off to the side. I swiveled my head to see two juniors clad in all black shove someone to the ground.<p>

"I'm sorry!" A somewhat familiar voice piped up. "I wasn't looking and I'm really clumsy and-"

"So what!?" The first junior growled. "You think you have the nerve to go shoving around everyone in sight, blondie?"

I looked over the dude's shoulder to see the kid that bumped into me from earlier. He was cowering under the two juniors, frightened and vulnerable. He nervously ran a had through his hair and stammered, "I-I-I'm-"

The other junior kicked his books to show his anger. "I'm nothing, you fuckin' dork! You think you're so great with your stupid dyed hair!"

I couldn't take this anymore. Without thinking, I barged between the two aggressive juniors and pulled up the helpless kid from earlier. I then swiftly pulled him into the janitor's supply closet behind us and locked the door so the idiotic juniors couldn't barge in.

"You seem to have a lot of trouble in the hallways around here," I stated, breaking through the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize. Those guys were douchebags and you didn't deserve that." I ducked lower so my head wasn't touching the ceiling. "I'm Lewis."

"Ar-Arthur M-M-Minkin," he stuttered. "My name's Arthur Minkin."

"Are you in any of my classes?"

"I think we might have study hall together. I'm not sure," Arthur sighed. "Yo, thanks for saving my ass back there. Those guys are on my back every day and it's frustrating."

"Nahh, it's okay. Are you a freshman here?" I asked, wondering how much time I had left until the bell would ring.

"I'm actually a sophomore. I don't know why everyone thinks I'm a freshie. I have a goatee for fuck's sake!" Arthur exclaimed, pointing to the small amount of black facial hair on his chin. "So... I'll see you in study hall then I guess. Don't wanna be late for class. Later,"

Before I could get another word in, Arthur swiftly unlocked the supply closet door and made his escape. I quickly left the closet and dashed all the way to Algebra Honors, hoping the bell wouldn't ring. Panting, I slipped into my tiny desk chair in the center of the classroom. Vivi was sitting in her desk already, humming happily as she doodled in her math notebook. I buried my head in my arms, tired after all that went on today. I wasn't usually tired at school. Yet now all I want to do is sleep.

"Probably because I actually talk to people now," I thought to myself. I barely talk to people at school. My only friends are my horror novels. I spent all of my freshman year reading and reading and reading. Talking to Vivi and that Arthur kid was a first. They could be potential friends, but who knows? Vivian is a bundle of energy, and we seem to have a lot in common. But Arthur? He did seem nice, but kinda dorky wearing that orange bubble oat, especially since it was almost the same color as his hair. I barely know him though, same goes for Vivi. I can screw this whole socializing thing up faster than it started.

I felt a , fragile small hand tap the side of my hand and I turned towards my project partner. "Did you get some information on hotel prices and attractions?" Vivi asked with a tone of seriousness in her voice. "I figured out the whole gas prices thing last night. I would've looked up places to eat too, but I had trouble calculation weekly prices and whatnot and I was exhausted by the time I got that done."

"Yeah, I did. I actually looked up restaurants and eating joints to, so it's okay. We'll have this project done in no time." I reassured her.

"Say Lewis," Vivi's blue eyes brightened up, a warning sign in my book. "How about you come over to my place sometime this weekend? That way we can get our project done in no time! You're not busy are you?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so..?"

"Woo! This is perfect! We'll have our project done a week before everyone else!" The blue haired girl squealed, making the teacher flinch. "I'll check in with my parents tonight. You do that too, Lewis!"

The bell rung before I could respond and class begun. I sighed and thought, "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Blushing, Emailing, and More Blushing**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Ghost AMV, Arthur would look like a demented banana. It would be horrifying.**

**DOUBLE DISCLAIMER: I also don't own 'Cigarettes' the creepypasta. It's a good story though.**

**PS: Do not try the phone numbers, I made then up on a whim, so I have no idea if they're real numbers or not.**

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><p>I sat at my desk chair, spinning around as I read creepypastas. I had long since finished Ghost Whisperer, and truthfully, I was pretty unsatisfied with the ending. It was very anticlimactic. Tess simply talks a malevolent ghost out of murdering someone and goes on her merry way. Most people are okay with happy, cheesy endings, but I prefer something with more oomph, if that makes any sense at all.<p>

Now I was just starting to read a short story called 'Cigarettes' on creepypasta wiki. It was about a ritual where you somehow manage to smoke cigarettes with a demonic, otherworldly presence. It was pretty interesting. I was on the last paragraph when a notification popped up on my screen saying I had one message in my school email inbox. Assuming it was Mr. Roland asking about the basketball team, I opened it because you don't want to risk anything by ignoring a teacher's email. To my surprise, it was from an unfamiliar email url. I clicked the 'Do you want to open?' button and read the message.

**To: LHinsey17**  
><strong>From: ViviRocks101<strong>  
><strong>Subject: Road trip project<strong>  
><strong>Hi Lewis! It's me, Vivi. I asked my parents about u coming over 2 work on the project 2morrow at noon and they said it was cool. They're certainly curious about u though! They keep asking if ur like one of my guy friends or something. Anyway, did u ask ur parents about it yet?<strong>

"Oh crap," I muttered to myself. I had avoided the subject, hoping she would just forget about it. As much as I wanted friends, I didn't feel like socializing. Ever. I took a moment to think about what I'd say and then I replied to her email.

**To: ViviRocks101**  
><strong>From: LHinsey17<strong>  
><strong>Subject: none<strong>  
><strong>It slipped my mind. I'll ask now then, I guess. Btw, how did you get my email..?<strong>

It seemed like not even a second before I got a response from Vivi. Her quick reply didn't surprise me.

**To: LHinsey17**  
><strong>From: ViviRocks101<strong>  
><strong>Subject: DO EET!<strong>  
><strong>Ask them now! Before it's 2 late! Tell ur parents that I'm inviting u 2 come over 2morrow 2 work on the project at noon. I'll have snacks for us and other stuff. It'll be awesome! And about ur email... I have my ways... :) Mwahahaha!<strong>

I rolled my eyes at the last part. It seemed so... Vivi. I closed my laptop and headed towards the living room where my mom was sitting on our pristine white sofa watching her weekly detective shows. I sat next to her and waited for her to say something, but I got no response. She was seriously sucked into her TV shows. I sighed and waited for a commercial to come on. I knew she would snap out of her trance once the commercial breaks started.

As a car insurance commercial began, my mom turned to me and started acting surprised. "My my, Lewis. I didn't think you'd ever come out of that room of yours! I didn't notice you! Did you want to tell me something?"

I could feel my cheeks turning hot as I replied, "Actually yes, there is something I wanted to ask you. I have this project for Algebra Honors and my partner invited me to work on the project tomorrow."

"Oh really? So he's inviting you to his house? What time?"

"Um... It's a she. She says I can show up at noon tomorrow. I'll have to ask for her address." My whole face was probably red by now.

"She?" My mom grinned, making me even more uncomfortable. "Does 'she' have a name?"

"V-V-Vivian," I stammered. "I sit next to her in class."

My mom nodded. "Okay, you can go. I'll have to meet Vivian's parents though. And by the way... What'cha blushing about, Bud?"

"Nothing." I shot up and dashed back to my bedroom. Feeling the red drain from my face, I opened up my laptop again and began typing out my reply to Vivi.

**To: ViviRocks101**  
><strong>From: LHinsey17<strong>  
><strong>Subject: Address?<strong>  
><strong>Sorry for the delayed reply. My mom said yes to my coming over tomorrow, but she wants to have a conversation with your parents. I also need to know your address.<strong>

I waited for Vivi's reply and went back on creepypasta wiki. I finished reading Cigarettes and then continued onto other stories. "Tomorrow's gonna play out smoothly," I said to myself for reassurance. "As long as Mom doesn't start acting like we're dating or something. We're technically not even friends yet!"

A half an hour zoomed by before Vivi actually replied. I was surprised she took so long, but that didn't really matter. I opened the message and got to reading.

**To: LHinsey17**  
><strong>From: ViviRocks101<strong>  
><strong>Subject: Plans for 2morrow<strong>  
><strong>Oh, we'll probably pick u up. In my mom's car. She'll stop by 2 talk with ur mom 2. But in case u wanna know, my address is this:<strong>  
><strong>5787 33rd PL. Same town as urs, obviously.<strong>  
><strong>I can't wait for 2morrow though! It'll be soooo much fun! If we finish the project early, maybe we can do something fun, like watch a horror movie or talk about books :)! Anywho, I gotta get 2 bed since it's like midnight. I'll email you 2morrow, Lewis! Nighty night!<strong>

"Already midnight?" I asked myself as I swiveled around in my chair to check the digital clock sitting on my nightstand. It read '12:04 AM' in big purple letters. "I guess more than just half an hour went by..." I let out a deep sigh, turning off my computer and going to fetch my pajamas. Well, it was just a sleeveless gray shirt and lilac flannel pants, but they were pajamas to me. After that, I briefly brushed my teeth and hopped into bed.

Yawning, I thought about tomorrow and what could possibly happen. It would probably be tiring, considering the fact that I'll have to keep up with Vivi for longer than a class period. Even though she's insanely hyper, she's still a nice girl. And the only one who bothered to talk to me. Maybe Vivi and I will actually become friends. Yeah, that would be nice... Very... Nice...

• • •

"Mmmmnh," I groaned into my pillow as I rolled over on my side. I knew I had to wake up soon, but these blankets were so warm... And my mattress felt like a cloud...

"It's time to wake up! It's time to wake up!" My mother sang obnoxiously, shaking me awake. I groggily rubbed my eyes and glanced at my clock, which read 9:10 AM.

"C'mon Mom." I yawned. "Don't I get to sleep in till ten on weekends?"

She continued her irritating fake singing. "Not today! You're going to that Vivian girl's house at noon, remember?"

Oh crap. Right.

I waited until my mom left the room and then locked the door behind her so I could get dressed. Not. I immediately dived back into bed. I buried myself in blankets and tried to get comfortable. But five minutes later, I was still awake. Like once someone wakes me up for longer than a minute, I just can't fall back asleep again!

"Shit," I muttered grumpily to myself as I put on my usual purple clothing. By usual, I mean a purple vest, an equally purple tie, khaki pants, and something to go under the vest. I then traveled to the bathroom again to try to manage my hair. I tried to comb it down, but my hair kept rising back up as if it was being affected by static electricity or something. After ten minutes of battling I gave in and styled into the usual purple pompadour.

After that I started heading for the kitchen when my laptop made a 'ping' noise. I walked over to it and opened it up to discover I had a new email from Vivi.

**To: LHinsey17**  
><strong>From: ViviRocks101<strong>  
><strong>Subject: Bruh Can I Has Phone #?<strong>  
><strong>I'm so excited for 2day! I barely ever have friends over so this is very nice :) We're already cleaning up the house for ur arrival! By the way, do u have a cell phone? It would be easier for me 2 contact u by phone so... What's ur number?<strong>

I sighed. Nobody's ever asked for my phone number before. And now someone is. I couldn't help but smile as I began to reply.

**To: ViviRocks101**  
><strong>From: LHinsey17<strong>  
><strong>Subject: none<strong>  
><strong>Yeah I have an iPhone. I barely use it though. Guess that's gonna change.. And my number's weird... 424-424-4242. It sucks how easy my number is. And I forgot to mention, my address is 2853, 47th street, "same town as urs."<strong>

Not even a second later, my phone started buzzing. I had a message from 424-666-6666. Hoping it wasn't Satan, I unlocked my phone and read the message. "_Don't worry, it's not the devil XD Just Vivi. Ur lucky u have an iPhone. I'm stuck with a cruddy flip phone! And u thought ur number was_ strange!"

I put Vivi into my mostly empty contacts list and replied, "_How'd you know I thought it was from Satan? Wow Vivi... Well I gotta eat breakfast so later._"

"_Sure thing, Lewis. Bye, see u l8r ;)!_" I smiled as I turned off my phone and walked casually into the kitchen to find waffle batter all over the floor, my mom fuming, and my dad laughing like a hyena with tears in his eyes. So much for being in a good mood.

"What happened?" I asked cluelessly.

"That goddamn waffle maker spat out batter all over my precious floor!" My mom huffed angrily. "I was only making breakfast for you two boys!"

"It was hilarious!" My father exclaimed in between bouts of hysterical laughter. "It started exploding batter and...! You mother was scared out of her wits and...!"

Without a word, I began grabbing paper towels and started cleaning up the mess. "Oh thank you, Lewis," My mother sighed, stroking my hair. "It's nice of you to help me, unlike your father over there!"

"Geez Lucinda, I'll get on it okay? Just give me a minute," My dad retorted as he ran a hand through his dark violet hair, that was slowly balding.

After we all finished cleaning, I went through the cabinet and poured everyone a bowl of cereal. I then took mine and began eating, noting that the time was 10:13 AM. Time sure goes by fast. I finished breakfast and gathered what I needed to work on the project. Knowing we would finish quickly, I also put Ghost Whisperer and a few other horror novels in my backpack so we'd have something to talk about afterward. Then I made my bed and sat on my chair, ready to read more creepypasta.

I don't know how long I sat there reading and browsing, but at some point my phone started going off again so I stopped momentarily to read the message. "_Just a heads up, we'll be at ur house 2 pick u up in about 5 mins! Both my mom and my dad are coming cuz they wanna meet the new 'guy friend.' It's ridiculous XD_"

Vivi was going to be here in five minutes. With both of her parents. Oh shit.

I grabbed my backpack and phone and headed to the living room to check for Vivi's car. As I began to think of the whole situation I grew more and more nervous. Vivi's parents think I'm more than just a classmate. My parents are definitely going to embarrass me. Somehow. They'll probably tease me about my first friend being a girl. If Vivi's my friend. Or maybe they'll go as far as to tease me that before Vivi, I didn't have any friends at all.

I snapped out of my unpleasant reverie (oxymoron?) when I noticed an unfamiliar forest green minivan parked across the street. Two blondes and Vivi got out of the car and she was pointing across the street towards my house with a huge grin on her face. They all walked over to my neighbors' house and began knocking on the door. Trying to suppress my laughter, I opened the front door, letting the chilly air in, and called out, "Vivi! Over here!"

My classmate and her parents quickly rushed over to my house, chuckling over their mistake. Hearing all the noise, my parents showed up behind me, prepared for battle. I took in a deep sigh, mentally preparing myself for all of the socializing. "Wish me luck," I thought to myself wearily.

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><p><strong>(AN: Ayy, Nomad here! Just to let you know, I'm still working on chapter six and I'll be posting one chapter a day if I can keep up. Other than that, that's it so... Thank you for reading, please review and et me know what you think! Now... I'll see you in the next chapter!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- A Dream of Ghouls and Minivans**

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to MysteryBen27 and company. I only own my ideas and my laptop.**

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><p>"Hello, I'm Vivi's mother, Mrs. Hart, but you can just call me Samantha!" Vivi's chipper and might I add, very blonde mother held out her hand for me to shake. "You must be Lewis from Vivian's class!"<p>

"Mooooooom, it's Vivi!"

Vivi's also blond father shook my hand and said, "And I'm Richard, Vivi's father. Well you're much taller than I thought. I'm only 5'9"!"

Let the blushing begin, I thought as my cheeks instantly reddened. "Yeah, I'm Lewis." I said shakily. "These are my parents behind me. And yeah, I sit next to Vivi in Algebra Honors."

To my relief, my parents nudged me to the side and finished the talking. "I'm Lucinda, or Mrs. Hinsey, whichever one you prefer." My mom said through her welcoming smile. "Oh it's so mice meeting you! Lewis barely ever goes out with friends, so meeting his new acquaintance is a very pleasant surprise!"

"It's the same way for Vivian-"

"Vivi!" My classmate corrected her mom, rolling her eyes jokingly.

"It's the same way for Vivi," her mother commented. "She's always cooped up in her bedroom watching horror movies, so this is pretty nice!"

"Here come inside," my dad said, holding the door open. "It's freezing out here and it's only the beginning of October!"

The adults quickly rushed inside, leaving Vivi and I on the front porch all alone. We let awkward silence have its moment while I sat there imagining how Vivi would look if she was as blonde as her parents. Their hair was so white it was almost translucent!

"I didn't know your hair was naturally purple, Lewis! I thought you dyed it like how I dyed mine! To be honest it looks really pretty." Vivi exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's natural," I blushed. "Was your hair as blonde as your parents' hair?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It looked really weird on me and I was getting sick of it, so I just saved up some money and dyed it blue when I had enough. The good part of having such light hair is that I barely need to go back to get it re-dyed and I didn't even need bleach!"

"Interesting, I can't really picture you as a blonde." I replied, sitting down on a stair step.

"Oh, just wait till you get to my place! My parents have pictures of me as a blonde EVERYWHERE! They like to show my friends my baby pictures as a way to embarrass me. We're going to have to sprint to my room the second we get inside if you want to escape two hours of awkwardness and embarrassment."

"Okay then, sure. I'm a pretty fast runner. Not the fastest but I can run."

"Good, cause you'll need to use those long legs of yours. Speaking of which..." Vivi trailed off, adjusting her pink-tinted glasses. "I figured we would finish early, so I took out my bike and my dad's bike for us to use. We don't have to go biking if you don't want to, but I took them out just in case."

"Sure," I said, giving her an Oscar winning fake smile. "We can totally go biking."

I'm such an idiot. I haven't biked since the fifth grade. That's four years. I know how to ride a bicycle, but I'm guaranteed to fall of crash into something at some point since it's been too long since I rode a bike. Oh well.

"Just a warning though, I haven't ridden in-"

The door opened and Vivi's parents walked out, waving goodbye to my parents saying, "Goodbye! We'll make sure he's home before dark!"

We all gathered in the minivan, her parents in the front and Vivi and I in the back. The only problem was this minivan wasn't made for freakishly tall antisocial teenagers. My head was touching the ceiling, flattening my purple pompadour. I was also squished up against Vivi, since there was hardly any room in the back of the car. I could feel the color forming in my cheeks and I hoped nobody noticed it. On top of that, I was considerably anxious about the thick tension filling the car. I wanted the silence to go away, but I didn't want to have to talk to Vivi's parents either. It was nerve wracking.

"So this project you're working on, when's it due?" Vivi's mom asked, cutting through the awkward silence.

"In a little less than two weeks," I mumbled.

"We decided to work on it today since it isn't that big. We might as well finish it and get it over with so we don't have to worry about it next week." Vivi added, brushing her cotton candy blue bangs out of her eyes.

"That's nice... How long have you two known each other, Vivi?"

Vivi continued on, saving me from the struggles of holding up a conversation. "We've only known each other for about three days, but we have some things in common. Lewis is into horror books too!"

"Oh dear," her parents sighed in unison. "You see, Vivi here is a thrill seeking maniac. She loves anything paranormal! She even wants to start ghost investigations like her older brother!"

"You have a brother?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Vivi muttered, completely ignoring my question. "Are we home yet?"

"Just a few more blocks dear..."

I turned to the window and stared outside, watching other cars zoom past us. I tried to focus on the clouds rolling by, making a poor attempt at ignoring the fact that I was jammed in a tiny car with people I barely knew. "This was going to be a VERY long day," I thought solemnly to myself.

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><p>After just a few more minutes, we pulled into the driveway of a little blue Victorian style house. I quickly got out of Vivi's death trap minivan and studied her house. It had white trimming and a balcony and flowers in the window. The house looked like something out of a fairy tale, despite having a slightly shabby lawn. Vivi's house practically screamed cute. If houses could be cute, that is.<p>

I followed Vivi inside, remembering what she said about making an escape from her parents and her baby photos. Not even a second after I got both feet in the door, Vivi grabbed ahold of my arm and we sprinted to her room, leaving her parents behind in confusion. Vivi shut the door behind her and collapsed on her (no surprise) blue bed, sighing in relief. My eyes darted around her room. She had books, photos, and blue everywhere. There was an enormous bookcase right behind me, filled with a plethora of novels and horror stories. Instead of a nightstand, there was a shelf stacked full of DVDs next to Vivi's plain blue bed. There was also a dresser with a desk right next to it. On the desk was a laptop similar to mine an a ton of pens and pencils scattered around it. The thing that stuck out the most was the bright, royal blue walls that just so happened to match Vivi's clothes, hair, eyes, bed, and house.

Vivi's obsession with the color blue was crazier than the weird coincidence with most of my fitting clothes being purple. Wow.

"You don't like to talk much, do you Lewis?" My friend asked, nudging my side to bring me back to Earth. "You're so quiet and shy and whenever you talk to someone you start blushing a lot, even with your own parents!"

"Y-you noticed!?" I stammered against my own will.

"Of course, ya goofball! You do it all the time! It's kinda odd but I honestly think it's cute!"

WHAT.

"If I had a nickel for every time I've seen you blush, I'd be a millionaire! And I've only known you for three days!" Vivi continued. "Maybe I should start counting.."

I nervously swept my hair out of my eyes and mumbled, "I don't know why I blush so much. It's a weird habit of mine and it's pretty embarrassing. It's just a thing I guess."

"Say," Vivi's eyes lit up, signaling she had another one of her ideas. "Maybe after we finish the project, we should try to figure out what triggers your blushing. If we know what triggers it, maybe we could find ways to prevent it, since you're so embarrassed over it."

"So you're basically saying that you're going to try and correct my blushing habit?"

"Exactly. You want it to go away, right?"

I nodded and suggested, "Yeah we can do that along with the bike ride, but it would be nice if we could get this project done first."

"Oh right!"

I checked and corrected the gas prices Vivi wrote down for each day of the week, then we added the prices of different haunted attractions and the room prices for the Stanley Hotel. All of this added up to a total of $1,707. And we still needed to include the prices for food. "I think we might need to cut down on the attractions a little."

"Aww," Vivi shrugged. "You're right though... We'll go way over budget if we don't cut out something... I think we'll have to cancel one of the two ghost tours for Wednesday."

"I agree with you. Let's go with the morning ghost tour. I prefer sleeping in," I laughed.

"Great minds think alike." Vivi giggled. I began subtracting the price of the ghost tour and making sure the overall price of the trip wasn't still over the top. That's when I noticed Vivi's smile faded into a more serious look. "You know, I wish we could actually go to the Stanley Hotel and do other things involving haunted locations. My brother is an engineer, but he used to be a paranormal investigator. He made it look like the best thing to do. He even took me along with him for once case, and I enjoyed every second of it, even though we had to be very patient for eons. Recently I told him I wanted to dabble into paranormal investigation, but he flat out refused to let me use any of his old ghost gear because he didn't want me to 'put myself in dangerous situations.'"

Vivi moved closer to me and glanced at me with wistful eyes. "Someday I'll show him. I'm not afraid of ghosts and demons and such. Someday, I'll have a little group of my own and we'll do tons of cases and investigations. We'll use voice recorders and EMF detectors and help ghosts move on so they can rest in peace. We'll even have a little van to travel around and store equipment in. We'll have the best damn time of our lives ghost hunting and nobody will be able to stop us. You know, I don't want to just sit here reading about ghosts and fantasizing about my dreams, doing nothing to make them come true. Do you understand what I mean, Lewis?"

"I guess so. I've always thought about what I'd do with my life after high school and I don't just want to go to college and go into some boring job that I'd only do for the paycheck. I want an adventure in life, like the ones you see in great books and movies. Although I'd always become defeated by the fact that I've never really gotten anywhere or accomplished anything outside of school. I played the violin in the school band when I was younger, but I've long since given that up. It's depressing, yearning for a better life but doing nothing to improve your own."

"Wow," Vivi breathed, patting my shoulder thinking that would comfort me. "That was deep. Let me tell you what, soon someday, I'll get ahold of my brother's ghost equipment and we'll start our own ghost hunting business together, just you and I. I don't know how it'll play out, but we'll make it happen."

I couldn't help but smile, thinking about our little dream.

"That sounds... Perfect."

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><p>We finished our project within an hour. It was just under the budget, the total expenses being $1,926. Vivi and I cheered together when it was finally over. Our project was flawless. And we still had five hours of spare time before I had to go home. I was still in a somewhat pleasant mood, since I just made my first real friend in seven years. I was making some serious progress.<p>

"So we'll go on the bike ride and I'll bring this notepad along." Vivi announced, holding up blue pocket notebook. "I'll record what causes you to blush throughout the ride and if we don't have enough causes after the ride, I'll say numerous random things to see if that triggers it."

"Okay," I nodded, trying to put on a friendly demeanor. "As long as you don't stop in the middle of the street to start writing."

"I'm not stupid, Lewis!" My new friend giggled. "Now c'mon, let's go get the bikes."

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><p><strong>(AN: Well there you have it. The fourth chapter. It's finally the weekend, so I can use my time to work on chapters 7-10. Four chapters in 2.3 days. Let the challenge begin XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you think! I'll see you in the next chapter!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- The Everlasting Street**

**Disclaimer: All of these lovely characters belong to MysteryBen27. Except for the adults, of course. All the boring characters are mine xD I also happen to own the story ideas and this laptop.**

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><p>I quickly buttoned up my coat, in a rush to get outside but I failed to notice Vivi's mom watching me from the couch. "And where are you two going?" She asked, raising one eyebrow.<p>

"We're going on a bike ride," Vivi explained, saving me from having to talk myself. "You know, down that everlasting street. It's okay if I lend Lewis Dad's bike, right?"

"Did you two finish that project of yours?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Completely finished."

"Good job. And yeah Vivian, Lewis can borrow one of our bikes. Although I think that might be a bit small for him.. Hope that works out. Have fun and watch for cars!"

"I know Mom, I don't make the same mistake twice." My new friend rolled her eyes as she put on her shoes. "And it's Vivi!"

I opened the door for her, trying to be friendly. We got outside and as we reached Vivi's garage, her words hit me. Won't make the same mistake twice!? I'm definitely going to have to confront her about that.

I shook that thought aside for now and helped Vivi pull out the bikes. Her bicycle surprisingly wasn't blue. It was just plain old silver. The bike offered to me, her dad's bike, was the exact opposite of plain. It was a bold neon green with royal blue stripes all over. I got on and the bike felt okay. The seat was a bit uncomfortable, but all bikes are like that. Vivi's mom was right, the bike was just a little small, but that could simply be fixed by boosting up the seat. I didn't tell my new friend that though, I just decided to suck it up and deal with it.

"Alright, follow me. There's a street right down the block that's pretty isolated and it goes on forever!" I began pedaling, trying to keep up with Vivi since I kept swerving. She turned back to look at me and asked, "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah I guess. I haven't ridden a bike in quite awhile, so I'm trying to get used to it."

"Ah," Vivi said as she took a left turn. I was met with a street that literally went on forever. I couldn't find a dead end in sight! "By the way, I should probably explain the crap that went on with my mom back there."

"That would be nice," I chuckled.

"Yeah," Vivi grinned. "Anyway, backstory time! I was about eight and I was turning by the corner right here and I didn't see the car... I busted my right leg. Badly. It was practically crushed. I don't remember the pain I was in because I passed out like a complete coward. Recovery wasn't fun. Took me almost a year before I could walk on two legs again. I was surprised the doctors could even put my leg back together. The whole thing was a fiasco at the time, but doesn't really matter to me now. I make sure to take precautions, so... Yep."

"That must've been terrible. I've never broken any bones before, so I can't exactly understand the pain you had to go through. Hopefully it never happens again."

"It won't," Vivi flashed a mischievous smile, alerting me about something she was gonna say. "Well I told my share of personal stories. Now it's your turn!"

I groaned and swerved slightly, forgetting to focus on my biking. "Do I have to?"

"Yes! How are we gonna get to know each other if we don't share any embarrassing childhood stories?"

I let out an exhausted sigh, "You're a strange girl, Vivi. Fine, I'll tell you one of my embarrassing stories as long as you don't tell anyone. Not a soul."

"Why would I tell anyone? You're one of my only friends, so why would I go and mess that up now? I promise I won't tell a soul about what you're going to say."

"Alright then, good point." I paused for a moment to think of which story I should tell. There were oh so many to choose from.

"Go ahead now," Vivi giggled. "You aren't getting cold feet are you?"

"No, I'm just thinking. Here it goes..." I took in a deep breath to prepare myself. "Despite having strong Italian and Catholic ties, I'm not that religious at all. I had to go to a church with my family for the confirmation of one of my distant cousins when I was four, and it was a whole new ground. I was going through that one phase where I was deathly curious, so I wanted to run around and explore all the rooms and stuff. But my parents and grandmother were watching me like a hawk, so I couldn't get far. It was at the end of the ceremony, where everyone gathers to take pictures, that I managed to sneak away undetected. I remember seeing this chair towards the back and for some odd reason I wanted to climb on top of it. And since I was still a short little five year old, I couldn't get up there and I needed help. That's when I noticed this shiny red lever I could pull to help myself up. So I pulled it. What I didn't know was that it was a fire alarm."

"You're kidding!" Vivi laughed.

"Am not," I retorted, starting to blush a little. "I pulled the fire alarm to get up on the chair and suddenly sirens were going off and water was spraying everywhere. I was confused, but I wasn't afraid until I happened to look over at my family. Everyone was startled and confused, but my grandmother was staring right at me with eyes filled with rage. I knew then I was totally screwed. My grandmother only speaks in Italian when she's furious, and right now she was enraged! I distinctly remember her shouting across the whole church in nothing but Italian, 'Lewis! I'm gonna kill you! Get your skinny little ass over here!' And that's when I leaped off the chair and ran, trying to escape from her. I didn't get too far... My father quickly caught me and while they went explaining to the firemen about what happened, my grandmother yanked my hand and dragged me to the nearest bathroom and..."

I cringed for dramatic effect. "And she spanked me so hard I'm pretty sure the bruises on my butt matched the color of my hair. It was terrible. Then when we got home she gave me the biggest lecture of my life in front of my WHOLE family. I was horrified. I had tears in my eyes and everything. It was traumatizing back then, but now I laugh over it."

"Damn," Vivi muttered quietly. "No offense Lewis, but your grandmother sounds like a huge pain in the ass."

"She was, I guess." I explained, careful not to crash into the mailbox to my left. "My grandmother was really strict. Really, really strict. My parents were still in college when I was born, so she had to babysit me a lot so they could finish college together and graduate. But after college, my grandmother still wanted to look after me so she could 'teach me the values of manners and life.' So my parents agreed to have her come over and babysit me for two nights a week so they could run errands and go on dates together and stuff. My grandmother was extremely judgmental and she believed kids were making fun of me and looking down upon me because I had purple hair, so she was always lecturing me on standing up for myself and being a man, but a gentleman."

"Sorry to interrupt, but let's stop our bikes here," Vivi suggested. "I really like this gazebo in the park right next to us, so we can sit there and talk for a while."

"Sure," I agreed, kicking down my bike stand. I continued the story about my grandmother as we walked over to the gazebo. "My grandmother wasn't exactly nice. She would always yell at me for crying, or forgetting to say please and thank you, that kind of stuff. She taught me everything though. She taught me how to read, write, draw, play violin, and she even taught me how to understand Italian! I can't speak it, but I know a lot of words. My grandmother didn't give me too much positive feedback though. I liked to say everything on my mind when I was little, so she went to great lengths to teach me how to sit down, shut up, and only speak when it was necessary. Once I got curious and put my hand on a hot stove my grandmother was using. I remember running to her crying about my hand and she was furious. She forced me to put my hand back in the stove for a few minutes and wanted me to 'take it like a man.'"

"Oh my god Lewis, that's horrible!" Vivi exclaimed, taking a seat oh a bench in the gazebo.

"Nah, she was only trying to get her lesson across. But it started to get worse after that. She'd reprimand me for every word I said, always criticizing me about everything. I eventually just stopped talking so she couldn't yell at me for what I thought. My parents had her stop babysitting me when I was eight because she got diagnosed with Alzheimer's and simple things were difficult for her now. I was changed though. Being the silly child I was, I didn't make any friends outside of my family because I thought everyone would criticize me for trying to socialize. I played the violin up until when I was eleven, when my grandmother passed away. To be honest, I kind of missed her. When she wasn't yelling at me, she would always let me watch Italian soap operas with her and we would always gossip in Italian about the characters. She was really my only friend."

"It's nice that you loved her, but.." Vivi bit her lip anxiously. "It sounds like she was abusing you, Lewis. Physically and mentally. She must be part of the reason why you don't like to talk much. And that story with the stove..."

"Yeah, I know." My face instantly went red. "My parents were actually trying to separate us from each other at one point, but she was the only real companion I had, so it didn't really work. I guess you could say I was brainwashed by her quite a bit."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Vivi whispered remorsefully. "I'm making you blush, aren't I?" She took out her notepad and wrote, 'conversation about childhood.' "We should get back on the bikes now, I guess."

We began walking back to our bicycles silently. "It's not your fault, Vivi. I just don't talk about my grandmother that much, so it brings up old feelings. You don't have to beat yourself up over it."

I started pedaling and my friend followed behind. We were quiet for a few minutes. It was awkward. I just told someone I barely knew for three days about my strict grandmother. I didn't think that would come up. I glanced over my shoulder at Vivi, who was biking with a solemn look on her face. Great. I made the girl who couldn't run out of energy sad. Fantastic.

I have to do something about it though.

"There's this one place near my cousin Alfonso's house that he claims is wicked haunted. He lives in a town full of giant houses, and this haunted one was a very antique, Victorian style house. Alfonso said it was this very pretty, purple old house. But it was associated with a lot of crimes and murder, which he thinks is why it's infested with ghosts. He told me he didn't have the guts to break in and investigate it, but some of his friends went in there with an Ouija board and they said the ghost didn't say anything, but a dresser fell over and it almost landed on one of his friends. I bet it's because they were stupid enough to tamper with an Ouija board, but it still sounds like a place worth checking out."

"So?"

"I was thinking someday, if we started hunting ghosts, we could check out this house near Alfonso's. What do you think?"

"Hmm... It sounds brilliant! It would be super cool to go inside such a haunted house with malevolent ghosts and tons of background history! That'll be the first place we go to for our investigation! This is perfect!"

I smiled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few guys our age playing basketball on the court next to us. One boy pointed towards us and suddenly I heard a crash behind me. I immediately stopped the bike and turned around to look at Vivi, who was knocked to the ground. "Vivi!" I got off my bike and helped her up, taking note of the basketball right next to her and her fallen bike. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded, getting up to brush off her neon blue skirt. Then she took the basketball and kicked it back at the boys. "Watch where you're throwing the ball, you idiots!"

"Vivi-" I began.

"Shh, these guys always try to screw with me. I have the right to call them idiots."

"Shut the hell up, blue bitch!" One of them called out, getting laughs of approval from the other jerks.

"Excuse me!? You threw a basketball at my face!"

"Stop overreacting," one of the other jerks jeered. "She's just on her period!"

Vivi's hands curled into tight fists. She spat, "You knocked me off my bike for no reason! Just your entertainment! And FYI, I've never gotten my period and I certainly do not plan on getting it anytime soon! Now leave me and my friend ALONE!"

My mind processed her words and against my will, my cheeks began to burn a bright red. Even worse, my blue haired friend just happened to notice this, making my whole face go redder than a fire truck. "You're blushing again, Lewis!" Vivi laughed, her angry attitude instantly disappearing. "Was it because of what I said to them?"

She took my blood red face as a yes. "Here, lemme write that down." Vivi whipped out her notepad and began scribbling. Just at that moment, I looked up and the basketball was flying at my only friend again. Within a second, I had jumped in front of Vivi and caught the ball with complete ease. I caught it by my chest. They were aiming for her head.

"Motherfucker," I growled under my breath. I whipped the ball back at them and it hit the center of the backboard with a dull crack and it went straight into the basket. They stared at me in awe as the ball began to slowly deflate. I looked down at Vivi, who just stared back at me. Then the ball. Then me. Suddenly, her face broke out into a bright smile.

"That was so cool! You scared the living shit out of them! You kinda startled me a little too, Lewis! Who knew you had it in you? Thank God I'm on your good side!" Vivi cheered, hopping back on her bike.

I did the same and we continued on the everlasting street. Vivi was back to her chipper self, smiling to herself and humming a somewhat familiar song. Somehow, seeing my friend happy again relieved me. I was still a bit shaken up by the argument, but who cares? I began biking at a slightly faster pace, quickly getting ahead of Vivi. She grinned mischievously and started pedaling faster too. Soon, we were biking at full speed, having the perfect race. The wind blew through my purple pompadour and Vivi's scarf fluttered in the strong breeze.

"Whoever bikes past that brown pole right up there wins!" Vivi panted as she sped ahead of me. I pedaled even harder, surprisingly struggling to keep up with her. We both passed the pole at almost the same time, but it was clearly Vivi who won.

"Woo! I won!" Vivi cheered, doing a U-turn to stick her tongue out at me. "Who's badass now, boy?"

"How do you have so much stamina in that tiny body of yours?" I laughed, not exactly trying to hide my awe. "It's crazy!"

"Bow down to your queen!" My friend stated jokingly. "Anyway," She huffed, her breath laboring for just a split second. "We should probably get home soon. It's freezing out and I wanna show you one of my favorite horror movies."

"I'm not exactly into horror movies, but okay, sure." I replied. We turned around and started going back down the everlasting street to Vivi's house. I grinned to myself, feeling that something about me changed while riding down this ongoing street.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Movies, Jenga, and Strawberry Sundaes**

**Disclaimer: All of these glorious characters (that ruined my life) belong to MysteryBen27 and company. Like I've said five times before, all I own are my ideas and my laptop. I don't own the horror movies mentioned, either.**

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><p>"Mom, can't we eat lunch in the living room? Just this once? C'mon, we were gonna watch Paranormal Activity Four!"<p>

"I thought we were watching The Conjuring." I raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," Mrs. Hart sighed in defeat as she set down a tray of sandwiches on the coffee table. "But if I see a morsel of bread crumbs on the couch y'all are eating in the kitchen!"

Vivi's mom walked out of the room to leave us with our horror movie. "So what's Paranormal Activity Four?" I asked quietly. I've read tons and tons of horror books, but I know pretty much no horror movies, except for ones based off of books.

"You don't know what Paranormal Activity is!?" Vivi exclaimed, adjusting her glasses to add effect. "It's one of the most popular horror series! There's four movies so far, and it's this big haunting story in mixed order. No matter what movie I show, it'll still be confusing as hell plot-wise. So I just decided to put on the most recent one cause it's actually pretty cool. Like I said, the story barely makes any sense, but the subtle things you can pick up on are amazing. The little things that the ghost does that you notice adds to the suspense, you know?"

"That's great, now can you please help me put in the disc?"

"Oops, okay!" Vivi laughed. I stepped aside and snatched a sandwich off of the plain white tray while my blue haired friend inserted the DVD. I collapsed back on the comfy, jean blue couch and took a bite into my sandwich. It was okay. I didn't check to see what was in my sandwich, but it tasted like a BLT. I wasn't a big fan of BLTs, even with bacon in there, but it was decent. The tomatoes were fresh and juicy. The bacon was flavorful. The lettuce was... Lettuce.

I sighed and began watching the annoying movie previews that always came on before the movie itself. I looked over at Vivi, taking in all of the blueness. She was staring emotionlessly at the screen, waiting along with me for the commercials to end. So far there were trailers for a lame comedy movie, a few horror movies, and some shitty romantic love triangle movie. At first I wondered if Vivi was into that sort of thing, but her howling laughter towards the end of the trailer suggested otherwise. I was actually relieved when the movie finally began.

"You know Lewis, I've seen this movie loads of times so it's okay to talk during it." Vivi said, shifting uncomfortably on her side of the couch. "I find the silence really awkward."

"But I never saw this movie..." I mumbled, slightly confused.

"Oh right! Sorry!" Vivi smiled gawkily, biting her bottom lip. "Let me know what you think every now and then, though!"

"Sure thing," I sighed, rubbing my temples. I reached to grab a second sandwich but they had all disappeared. I looked at Vivi yet again, who was wiping bread crumbs from her mouth. Disappointed, I turned my attention back towards the screen and continued watching.

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><p>"DAD! Make it stop!" The teenage girl behind the camera cried as her father was dragged off into the darkness of her house b an unknown entity. She ran into one of the bedrooms, searching frantically for her possibly possessed younger brother.<p>

"Wait for it, wait for it," Vivi chanted excitedly next to me as the girl whipped around to see a woman standing at the end of the hall, covered in blood. The blood stained woman began charging at the camera at the speed of light. Somehow, the teenager managed to slam the door shut before climbing out a window to find her brother staring at her with a blank expression. "Here it comes!"

The girl glanced around to find possessed women surrounding her, ready to attack. Out of nowhere, the demonic, blood stained woman pounced at the screen out of nowhere, making me flinch to say the least. Vivi broke out into laughter as I caught my breath and the roll credits came on.

"You should've seen your face, Lewis! You went from blankly staring at the movie to jolting up and flailing your arms everywhere! Holy crap, your face was priceless!" The blue haired girl exclaimed, mocking my face from the last jumpscare. I blushed a deep red, obviously embarrassed that I fell for a jumpscare Vivi saw coming.

"S-shut up!" I laughed nervously. I then distracted myself by looking over at the grandfather clock, the little hand on five and the big hand on thirty-seven. "What are we gonna do now? We still have a little less than an hour and a half left before I have to leave."

"Who knows," Vivi shrugged as we walked back up the stairs to her bedroom. "Maybe another movie?" She set Paranormal Activity whatever back on her shelf.

"Nah, no thank you. Is there something else we could possibly do?" I asked, studying her many photos around the room of blonde Vivi. "We could just talk."

"Too boring. Ooh! I know!" Vivi's eyes lit up for what seemed the millionth time that day. "How about we play Jenga?"

"You can't be serious..."

"But I am! Trust me it'll be fun!"

"I've played Jenga before, it's not like I'm completely isolated from the world."

Vivi took out the board game and wiped off the dust with the sleeve of her sweater. She looked up at me for just a second, then went back to setting up the game. She quickly built the tower, her tiny hands swiftly moving. "There, let's do this. I dare you to go first!"

"Deal," I grinned evilly as I plucked the wooden block on the top of the building. "Your turn."

"You damn cheater! That's not how it works!" Vivi pulled out a block from the middle oh-so-carefully. She crossed her arms and said smugly, "Have fun knocking over the building!"

I slowly dragged out a block towards the bottom, creating as much tension as possible. The block tower wobbled a little, but I was safe. "You were saying?"

"Shut up!"

We each took turns cautiously pulling out blocks and taunting each other. After what seemed like an eternity, the tower was only down to ten blocks. By then the both of us were dead silent, taking the game more seiously than a open heart transplant. Vivi kept licking her lips anxiously, pulling out each wooden block as fast as she possibly could. Me on the other hand, I was shaking ever so slightly as I slid the blocks out slower than it takes for paint to dry. Vivi didn't notice it, but I could feel a faint blush forming on my face. There were only six blocks left. I can do this, I thought as I began to pull out another block. I almost had it-

"WHO WANTS DINNER!?" Mrs. Hart asked at the top of her lungs as she swung the door open at full speed, making me jump and accidentally kick Vivi's bed stand, completely demolishing the block tower and stubbing my toe.

"Yes! I won! Vivi for victory!" The blue haired girl cheered, doing a fist pump in the air as I rolled around on the ground holding my throbbing foot.

"Oh I'm sorry Lewis!" Mrs. Hart exclaimed, realizing what she had done. "It's not bleeding, is it?"

"Relax Mom, he's fine!"

"Yeah," I managed to choke out. "I'm totally fine."

"If you say so." Mrs. Hart said, running a hand through her transparent blonde hair. "As I was saying, dinner's on the table. I decided to make chicken fajitas and Spanish rice with beans. It's probably not like how your mother makes it, but I'm pretty sure you'll like it Lewis."

Oh. My. God.

"Mrs. Hart, my mom doesn't make fajitas that often. We're Italian.." I mumbled sheepishly, blushing harder than my toe was pounding.

"I'm sorry, dear! You're just really tan, so I assumed..! I'm so sorry Lewis. Let's just get to the table before I screw anything else up."

We headed to the kitchen, Vivi laughing like a hyena at how much I was blushing.

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><p>I didn't realize how hungry I was until the smell of green peppers and spicy chicken wafted into my nose, making my mouth water profusely. The wooden dining table was set up very nicely, with complicated woven placemats and black and orange candles lit up in the center of the table. I raced Vivi to the table and sat on one of the small, cushiony seats. I stopped to stare at the delicious food for a moment before digging in, trying not to eat sloppily. I couldn't say the same for Vivi, though. My blue haired friend was literally wolfing down her rice and beans. The fajitas had a very distinct spicy flavor to them, which I wanted to savor. The rice and beans were fine, even though I'm not a big fan of beans. I ate them anyway though to show good manners to my friend's mom.<p>

After a few minutes of eating, I glanced over at Vivi and was surprised to see her plate completely clean. "Hey Mom, did Dad have a meeting to go to?"

"Ah, so you finally noticed." Mrs. Hart chuckled. "He left an hour ago."

"Whatever. Oh, can I make strawberry sundaes? I already finished and I know we have all the ingredients, so."

"Fine, just don't make a mess and make one for Lewis too. He's still eating, but I'm pretty sure he'll be done sooner or later." My friend's mom replied, setting down her empty plate.

How did these girls eat so fast!?

I heard Vivi going through the fridge behind me and ate my last bit of rice. I was done. Guess I eat pretty fast, too.

"So Lewis, you said your family was Italian..?" I nodded silently. "Are you able to speak in Italian then?"

Oh crap, here we go. "Sure I guess. I understand Italian completely, but I was able to speak it better when I was younger. I can say quite a few things though."

"Let's hear it, I've always been interested in foreign languages. Say something in Italian, if you're comfortable with it."

WHAT. "I'm not sure how that'll work." I stated, blushing profusely yet again. "I only speak it at family get togethers, so I'm not as used to it."

"It's okay, I don't know any Italian so I'll have no idea if you messed up or not." Oh jeez.

I sighed and quickly thought of something to say. I took a deep breath and it came out. "_Questa volta, appena potrei scomparire_."

"It sounds pretty." Vivi commented from behind me.

"What does it mean?" Her mom asked, a little too interested.

"It means the food was delicious," I lied straight through my teeth.

"Oh thank you!"

"You're welcome," I sighed wearily. I didn't know exactly why, but I felt like saying something my grandmother had told me from her last days of Alzheimer's. Before she could no longer talk, that is. So I did. I had said, "This time, I might just disappear." I remember her whispering it softly into my ear, making me shiver when I realized what she meant.

"Behold, Vivi's majestic strawberry sundaes!" My blue haired friend announced, setting a mountain of ice cream in front of me. But it wasn't just ice cream. It was three scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with fresh strawberries, marshmallows, and an enormous pool of chocolate syrup. I slowly turned to look at Vivi in shocked, who was giggling at my reaction and eating her homemade sugar coma.

"Go ahead, try it Lewis! You won't be disappointed!"

I took a spoonful of the sundae and shoved it in my mouth. My taste buds were certainly satisfied with the results. It was AMAZING. Somehow, the marshmallows tasted perfect with the strawberries and the fudge. Oh, the fudge. I wasn't necessarily a fan of desserts and sweets, but Vivi mastered them. All with some simple things you can find in the fridge. I couldn't believe I was saying this, but this beat my aunt's traditional Thanksgiving cannolis by a long run. That's when I realized Vivi was staring at me, waiting for approval.

"Thiff ish amashing!" I exclaimed in between periods of stuffing the ice cream in my mouth. Vivi chuckled at my reaction and her mom shuffled back into the room. I was so busy with the ice cream I didn't even know she left.

"Oh boy, everyone just loves Vivi's sundaes," She grinned playfully. "Anyway, I hate to break up the party, but Lewis's mother called. She says she'll be here to pick you up in about fifteen minutes."

We both groaned simultaneously. "He has to go home at some point you know," Mrs. Hart sighed as she exited the kitchen yet again.

I waited before she was completely out of the room to say, "I actually did like coming over today. It was very fun and if I hadn't come over today, I don't think I'd have as much fun as I did in these few hours. Thanks."

"No problem," Vivi said, putting her bowl away in the dish washer. "It's great knowing that I found my co-paranormal investigator finally. I always dreamed of going into the ghost hunting field and it's even better now knowing that I'll be doing it with someone with best friend potential. I never thought we'd be friends, I thought you hated everyone. Looks like I'm wrong. How do you say that in Italian?"

"_Sembra che mi sbagliavo_." I told her, trying to suppress a yawn. "And same here I guess. I didn't expect any of that today."

"Well... You'll definitely have to come over here again sometime soon. Maybe we could do something for Halloween? If you're not busy that is. My parents are going to a Zombie Prom this Halloween, so I'll be stuck at home giving out candy to Trick or Treaters. Unless you want to do something, that is."

"Ehh maybe. I don't go Trick or Treating unless I have someone to go with, but I don't feel like dressing up this year. My parents were actually planning on having a Horror Movie Marathon on Halloween. The we were gonna head over to this one really cool haunted house nearby. I could convince my parents to let you come along with us. It's only October 8th, so we still have time."

"Cool! Movies and getting scared out of your wits sounds fun! I've never been to one of those haunted houses, so I think it would be a fun experience. If only we could go investigate a real haunted house... I'd be the happiest ninth grader alive!"

"Wait. You're not a sophomore?" I asked, doing nothing to hide the surprise in my voice.

"No silly, I'm a freshman! I thought you knew! Feels nice having someone think I'm older though. I'll take that as a complement!" Vivi beamed, brushing her blue bangs out of her face.

Her joyful face quickly switched to a solemn one when the doorbell rang. I put my bowl away and she followed me as I went to her room to grab my things. "I guess I'll see you on Monday," Vivi said softly. I shrugged and headed towards the living room, where our moms were having a conversation about who knows what.

My mom looked over at me and said, "I've come to drag you home. Say goodbye to your friend now. I hope you two had fun!"

Not knowing what to do I awkwardly one-arm-hugged Vivi and mumbled, "Thanks for inviting me over to work on that project. It was the most fun I had in a while... See you at school."

"Same goes for you! Thanks for keeping me company!" I flashed Vivi a small smile and walked out the door with my mom, having to duck a little thanks to my height. As we started to pull away, I looked in the window and happened to notice Vivi waving goodbye in the window. I waved back and we took off down the street.

"So how was Vivi's house?" My mom asked. "Did you have a lot of fun?"

As much as I didn't want to fill in my mom on our day, she deserved to know for it's been ages since she last asked me that question. "It was thoroughly entertaining," I replied, suddenly realizing how sleepy I was. I yawned, "I think I made a new friend at last."

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><p><strong>(AN: Yes, I had to use Google Translate for the Italian. Yes, I know Google Translate is complete shit. Anyone who finds any mistakes when it comes to the Italian, please feel free to correct me. It pains me so that I have to trust Google on this one. *sigh* Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, it was a challenge to write. PLEASE review and tell me what you think so far! I know it's not that fluffy yet, but trust me, there will be fluff. And ghosts. Lots of ghosts. So... See you in the next chapter!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**.Chapter 7- What's a Bara?**

**Disclaimer: MysteryBen27 owns all of these fabulous cuties. I own nothing but my laptop, ideas, and a Ciel Phantomhive keychain ^v^**

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><p>Ever since I hung out with Vivi that Saturday, things took a turn for the better. We turned in our road trip project on Monday and we got extra credit for being the first group that finished. I was actually talking at school. To Vivi, at least. On Tuesday, we spent a good two hours emailing each other, debating over the ending of Ghost Whisperer. I was extremely unsatisfied with the ending while my blue haired friend was perfectly fine with it. I actually got in trouble on Wednesday for not bothering to stop my conversation about creepypasta with Vivi. I was only given a warning from Mrs. Tiemann because she claimed she wanted me to be more social. Now it was Thursday and I actually woke up in a good mood. I felt that Vivi had actually done the impossible and brought out my outgoing side. And somehow, it made me feel a little happier inside.<p>

I was making my way to my free period in the cafeteria when a voice, definitely belonging to my cotton candy blue friend chased after me, calling out, "Lewis! Lewis! Wait for me, man! I have tiny legs!"

Vivi caught up to me, panting, "Dude, why is it that tall people like you always walk so fast? It's crazy!"

"I dunno, I take big steps, I guess." I shrugged. "Anyway, do you have any homework so far?"

"Too much," Vivi let out a sigh of exhaustion as we walked quickly down the stair corridor. "I have a Biology packet and an essay for Honors English as of now. It's not that difficult, but there's no way I'll get it done in free period."

Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention. Vivi and I figured out that we had our free period in the cafeteria together. That means we had an hour each day to goof off and procrastinate with each other. I didn't have any homework yet, but whether Vivi had homework or not, there was no way she was actually going to work on it. We entered the gigantic cafeteria and headed straight for the abandoned round table in the left corner near the window. We both dropped our heavy textbooks on the table in sync and took our seats.

"We need to have a random conversation about something. An interesting topic. I'm bored," my blue haired friend said bluntly, blowing a strand of cotton candy blue hair out of her face.

"Musical instruments?" I suggested.

"We talked about that yesterday."

"Maybe... College? I have no idea. I just came out of another seminar. That's all they ever talk about."

"Oh gosh, not college," Vivi retorted. "I can't stand talking about my future unless it involves ghost hunting with you."

I began to blush lightly as the bell rang, marking the start of free period. We got out our school IDs to go scan in for attendance when a perfect idea hit me. "I got it, Vivi! How about pet peeves? You said you couldn't stand talking about college, so.."

"Fantastic idea, mi amigo!" Vivi grinned, standing on her tip toes in line to pat my unruly pompadour. "So what's your biggest pet peeve?"

"First of all, it's 'il mio amico,'" I corrected her, deeply chuckling. "And my biggest pet peeve...? I have to say it's a close tie between people asking me to join sports teams or people who try too hard to piss of others for their own entertainment. If you're looking for more, I also dislike people asking me to translate cuss words to Italian and gender stereotypes."

Vivi and I scanned in and went to go sit back down. "Wow, I got a lot out of you, Lewis! It's a miracle! Four sentences in a row!"

"Shut up," I giggled, nudging her playfully. "Now you go."

"Hm. Where do I start? You already know I don't like talking about college... I hate lending out pens to people, if that's a thing. I just feel like they'll steal them. That's pretty much it but I also despise it when people assume I'm clueless and naïve for being an extremely quirky person. Some people treat me like I have the brain of a five year old! I don't let it get to me though. That would just be immature, so. By the way, did you ask your mom about Halloween yet?"

"Not yet..." I trailed off, zoning out a little. I was somewhat sleep deprived after staying up till one AM every night of the week reading creepypasta.

"Hey Lewis,"

"What?" I groaned.

"Hey Lewis," Vivi grinned mischievously, trying as hard as she could not to start laughing. "I've got a few puns on my mind, but I have a feeling you won't find them punny."

"Dammit Vivi," I exhaled, putting my head in my arms. "Please don't tell me anymore."

"Why not? I was hoping you'd find my jokes punbelievably punny! I even made up Halloween puns!" My slightly annoying blue haired friend cackled. "Lew, why didn't the skeleton cross the road?"

"Why not?"

"Because he didn't have the GUTS." Vivi burst into hysterical laughter as my face twisted into a look that screamed, 'Are you fucking serious?'

"What does a ghost eat for lunch? A BOO-logna sandwich!"

"Vivi, please stop. Now. It's not punny!"

"Lewis, I was just trying to lighten up your mood and- wait. Oh my god. You did not just do that."

"Oh yes I did. I was punprepared, but it proved to be puntastic." I told her, smiling like an idiot since I felt like one.

"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you! See, you can be punny if you try!"

"Eh, not really. I'm out of puns and let's face it, I can't make a clever joke to spare my life. My puns suck. I'm probably not that fun to talk to either." I sheepishly looked down at the littered cafeteria floor, my cheeks tinted red. "It's like outside of talking about ghosts, I'm the most boring person alive. I don't have a good sense of humor, I can't uphold normal conversations, hell, I can't even make a point without blushing like a mad fool! It's just pathetic."

"Jeez, stop shooting yourself down dude. You know that's not true. You're just a little rusty with social skills, like how my poetry skills aren't that great. Yet. Give it sometime, you've only been talking for a week you know." Vivi patted my back reassuringly. "It'll get better. But I'd reccommed boosting that self esteem of yours. You'd realize how lucky of a person you are if you just try."

"Lucky?"

"Yeah, look at yourself! You're wicked smart, you're friendly, you've got looks, I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend by now! You're practically a bara and everyone digs baras!"

"I've never had a girlfriend..." I mumbled, blushing profusely. "And what's a... Bara?"

"Bara is a slang term for muscular guys. Which is good. The part you won't like is that it was derived from 'Barazoku,' a Japanese boy love manga."

"WHAT?" I exclaimed, covering my beet red face with my somewhat large hands. Vivi began to laugh hysterically.

"Oh my gosh your face!" She cackled in between bouts of maniacal laughter. "It's hilarious!"

After a good minute of humiliation, my blue haired friend finally calmed down enough to continue her point. "I'm still surprised you've never had a girlfriend before. You'd be a total package! I had a boyfriend once in the eighth grade, but I broke up with him the day after because I found out he only asked me out to win a bet for twenty bucks. So technically I've never been in a relationship either."

"That's terrible. But that also sounds like something a lot of guys would do around here."

"Yeah, I wasn't that affected by it. I was a little disappointed, but I didn't really care cause I wouldn't have wanted to date a jerk like that. I should have seen it coming. I think all the guys in my middle school were all a bunch of jackasses."

"I never paid attention to anyone in my middle school days, so I wouldn't know how my classmates were. I was too busy being stuck in a rough time to care." I sighed just as the bell rang, marking the end of the first half of free period. We would have to scan in again.

"I despised my classmates," Vivi said in a cheerful tone, making her words sound extremely eerie. "This one girl kept stealing my pens and I didn't realize it until I caught her taking my favorite lilac sharpie pen out of my bag. I may or may not have chased her down the hall and tackled her to get it back..."

"Wow," I said as we got in line. "That reminds me of the battles my younger cousins used to have over these Italian cookies every Chirstmas. My aunt Veronica would make them every year and my cousins would go ballistic over them. I got first pick once, so my cousins literally brought me to the ground for that cookie and I was calling out for help, but my grandfather just grinned and said it was revenge fordoing the same thing to him when I was younger."

"Sounds like you have an eccentric family," My blue clad friend giggled. "My brother comes home for the holidays and we just have a small celebration at our house. I always sneak away because my parents just spend the whole time fawning over my brother. And he just takes it all in. It's kinda irritating."

"That must be miserable. I always go to my cousin Alfonso's house every year. He lives in one of those gigantic houses with my aunt, uncle, and three other cousins. More people come over on Thanksgiving than Christmas though. All of the kids are running around getting into trouble. Alfonso, a few others, and I like to play shooting games and catch up with each other in his room. The adults are all conversing in English by the table and the grandparents sit nearby chatting in full Italian. What's weird is how learning how to speak Italian skipped a generation. Most of the parents barely know any Italian while us teenagers are fluent and the kids are learning it."

"I wish I could speak a foreign language," Vivi sighed wistfully. "I took a Spanish class in seventh grade, but it was nearly impossible to comprehend! Languages come easier to you when you're a child, so no wonder you're fluent in both languages. I've always wanted to learn a language like French or Spanish but it's just so difficult!"

"It's really not a big deal. The only kick out of knowing a second language is talking in front of people who don't understand it. Other than that, there's really nothing to it. I'd teach you Italian, but I'm not a great teacher. It's my grandparents who taught us all."

"Ah... We'll let's check in now. We're holding up the line."

"Sure thing, Vivi."

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><p>We finished checking in and returned to our seats. We spent the remainder of our free period conversing about you guessed it: ghosts. I told Vivi I never experienced an actual haunting, but I had some weird stories about the little yellow house my grandmother used to live in. We only went there occasionally, since she was usually over at my house babysitting, but my parents let me spend the night at her house every now and then. I would hear voices. At first I thought the voice was my grandmother's because it was always calling me in Italian. I would sleepily head over to her bedroom only to find out there was no one there. My grandmother could never find her things because they were always misplaced, but I assumed it was because she kept forgetting where she left whatever she was looking for.<p>

The most memorable unexplainable experience at her house was the time I followed her into the attic. I remember hearing her say, "Follow me, Lewis. Come here, I have to show you something. It'll be fun." Only it wasn't my grandmother because she was passed out on the sofa. She woke up and climbed up the attic ladder to find me trying to put a noose on my neck that I knotted wrong. Needless to say I was yelled at, but she was left befuddled when I said 'the green light' had taught me how to tie one. She knew I wasn't lying because I didn't know how to even tie my shoes yet, but I somehow managed to make a small noose.

Vivi said my story was gold in the ghost department, but the whole thing seemed like a hazy dream to me. My grandmother confirmed it was real back when she was still alive, and I still had memories of it, but was it really the work of a poltergeist? Who knows. Vivi, on the other hand, had plenty of stories to share with me.

"As I've said before, I went with my brother and his crew for some investigations. One of them nothing happened, but the other three were pretty interesting. We went to this old lighthouse before and got a ton of evidence! We got footage of a vase falling off a shelf and breaking on its own, we got lots of spikes in the EMF detectors, we even got class A EVPs! They were pretty threatening too. One of them called out my brother! It was amazing! The lighthouse was probably my favorite. He, the crew, and I also checked out an abandoned hotel and that was a blast. We didn't get a lot of EVPs, but there was a lot of physical activity, such as doors opening, cameras with full battery suddenly going dead, and a ghost touched someone. We also went to investigate this mental asylum too."

"A mental asylum? Were you guys allowed inside?"

"Eh... Nope. But we found a way in somehow! We got a lot of creepy EVPs within the first five hours, like screams and growls and ghosts cussing. Then, we reached the basement and my brother didn't want me to go down there, since the basement was very unsafe. It had a lot of dust and mold, so one of his friends and I went back to the base camp and reviewed our evidence until everyone else came back. We didn't know what happened, but my brother and his friends looked as if they had witnessed a murder or something. One of his friends had three, long scratches on his cheek. It had happened before, scratches. But it wasn't the worst part. They whispered some things to the girl who went with me, leaving me out of their fun. I don't know what could've happened, but they stopped letting me tag with them and soon after that, my brother stopped ghost hunting and went into business."

"Wow," I muttered in awe. "It had to be something serious if it made him quit his old passion."

"Yeah. Now he completely disapproves of me getting involved in the spiritual field. My parents are somewhat okay with it, but he flat out refuses to let me have his old ghost equipment. It's terrible. He's even going as far as trying to get me into girly things, like clothes and makeup. He does it every time he visits."

"That sounds similar to my cousin Alfonso's situation. He wants to go into filmmaking but my aunt Veronica won't let him take film classes and is trying to convince him to major in law school when he goes off to college in a year. I have a feeling you and Alfonso would get along. You're both so passionate about the things you love and would love to hear a little ghost story every now and then." I said as the bell rang.

"Crap," Vivi stood up and swung her enormous blue backpack on her shoulders. "Well I guess I have to get to class."

"Same here. Let's go through the Bio hallway though, so we can talk just a little bit longer before we have to part."

"Brilliant! I like how you think, Lewis!" My friend winked, getting a laugh out of me. "So what is it that we'll talk about?"

"Not sure.. Here's the stairs," I said, pointing up to the main corridor. "You know I'm not that good at coming up with topics to swell on."

We marched up the stairs when Vivi's eyes lit up and she laughed, "Oh my god, I just realized."

"Realized what?" I asked, holding out my hands in confusion.

"You're a hand gesture maniac! I couldn't see it before, but now that you actually talk it's obvious! Oh my gosh it's hilarious!"

"What? That's ridiculous!" I chuckled, doing a wrist roll with my hand to emphasize my point. Wait. "Holy shit,"

"Bwahahaha! You're doing it right now!" Vivi laughed hysterically, wiping invisible tears from her eyes.

"Shut up! You're making me feel like my grandmother!" I began to laugh along with her as we strolled down the Biology Hall. "Oh gosh, now I'm gonna be thinking about this during Chemistry-!"

Three loud thumps came from a locker next to my blue haired companion. She turned towards me with a puzzling look in her blue eyes. There was more pounding. Thump. Thump. Thump. Then finally, a worried cry came from the locker. "Somebody please help me!"

"Open the locker! Open it!" Vivi urged excitedly.

"But I don't know how to pick a lock!"

"Oh jeez, I'll do it." My now questionable friend whipped out her school ID and had the lock open within seconds. Vivi stepped aside as I quickly opened the rusty, old locker. Inside, a pair of teary, copper brown eyes stared back at me.

"Arthur?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- The Boy Who Camped Out in a Locker (for four hours)**

**Disclaimer: MysteryBen27 and company own these characters. I own a laptop, my ideas, and two reviews.**

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><p>"Arthur?" I pulled the trembling boy out of the dingy old locker and helped him up. "" What happened?"<p>

"Oh gosh, is he okay? Lewis, do you know him?" Vivi asked, examining the bruises and dried blood on Arthur's face.

"What did they do to you, Arthur?" I asked urgently.

Arthur was a mess, to say the least. He sported several bruises on his face, including a black eye. His spiky orange hair was all over the place and he had a trail of mostly dried blood leaking out of his nose. He looked right at me, about to say something, but all that came out was a series of choked sobs.

"We seriously need to get him to the nurse," Vivi stated solemnly, leading Arthur down the empty hallway. "Do you know who could've possibly hurt him?"

"No, but I did help him last week. These two guys were screwing with him so I helped him escape. It could've been those two guys, maybe."

I glanced at Arthur to see if he would talk, but I had no such luck. He was practically catatonic, walking down the hall with a blank face, tears rolling down his cheeks. Whatever these idiots did to him, they were definitely going to pay for it.

The three of us awkwardly shuffled into the nurse's office, where she was having a conversation with a student holding an ice pack to her knee. They turned their attention to us and the nurse rushed over to Arthur. "Oh my goodness, what happened to you!?" she exclaimed as Arthur just stood there with a slightly shocked look on his face.

"I don't know," Vivi answered as the nurse began wiping the dried blood and tears off of Arthur's face with a wet rag. "My buddy Lewis and I were heading to our classes when we heard noises coming from this one locker, so I got it open and we found the poor boy stuffed inside. We're unsure how as to how this happened or how long he's been in there, but he's really freaked out so be careful."

"I'm aware of that, this looks like the result of a panic attack," the nurse replied solemnly. "Now Arthur, are you okay? Could you explain what happened?"

Silence.

"How do you know Arthur's name?" I asked skeptically. "I don't remember telling you it."

"Pshh, I'm the school nurse silly! I know everyone's names! Plus, Arthur is a regular here. You're Lewis Hinsey. I don't think I've ever seen you stroll in here. And you," she turned to Vivi. "You're Vivian Hart. I don't see you around that often anymore, but I believe you came in to discuss your past insomnia issues last year..? Am I right? How's that going for you?"

Creepy...

"Oh yeah," Vivi chuckled nervously, obviously caught off guard. "I'm doing fine. My pills are helping. SO how's Arthur?"

"Okay," The orange haired boy mumbled from behind me, making me flinch in surprise. "My head hurts,"

"Sit down, hon," the nurse said, handing him an ice pack to put over his left eye.

"I think I was shoved into a locker," the boy said bluntly. "I couldn't fit inside, so they were trying to stuff me in it. One of them punched me in the face cause I screamed when they slammed the locker door into my nose. I banged on the locker but nobody could hear me or wouldn't help me. I got shoved inside right before first period."

"Oh my gosh, he's been in a locker for four hours!" Vivi exclaimed, an anxious tone in her voice.

The nurse helped Arthur lay on one of the small beds in the office and told him, "Rest for a while, honey. I'll call your fourth period teacher and let him know you're here. Speaking of which.. You two, come over here. I'm filling out passes for your classes so you two dears won't get in any trouble. Who are your teachers?"

* * *

><p>I hummed a random tune as I shuffled into Algebra Honors and took a seat in my annoying, tiny desk. Vivi was reading A Game of Knives, a book I had recommended to her at the beginning of the week. It was about an unhappily married couple trying to assassinate each other behind their backs. I pulled out my somewhat large Algebra textbook and my notebook, which surprisingly wasn't covered in doodles for once. I wasn't that good at drawing, even though I'm in an art class, but I enjoy it a lot. I was okay. Good enough to pass the class, that is. I was better at painting because it was relatively easy to mix colors into each other and using a paintbrush wasn't challenging.<p>

"Since your project due date has been moved up to tomorrow due to certain events," wrinkly, old Mrs. Tiemann began. "I'll be giving you this whole class period to work with your partners. Consider this a gift from me."

The class collectively groaned, minus Vivi and I, who were trying not to smile since we had another hour of spare time. She turned to me, flashing a million dollar smile, and said, "Looks like we're at an advantage."

"Yeah," I said rather enthusiastically. "Did you see that Arthur kid at all today? Or is he still in the nurse's office?"

"Haven't seen him at all. He could've gone home. I hope he's okay... Maybe we should check in on him at the nurse's office after class!" Vivi's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Sure, we can do that. By the way, how's the book?"

"It's fantastic! I'm almost done! I just love the suspense and irony! It's amazing how Mr. Santoro is trying to kill his wife and he has no idea she's trying to get him back! Don't you dare spoil it for me!"

"I won't," I reassured her. I couldn't think of what else to say until something struck me. I asked her "What was that nurse saying about 'insomnia issues,' earlier?"

"Nope, we're not talking about that," My blue everything friend interjected. "Absolutely not. I want to ask you something. Have you ever gone to Morton's Cafe?"

"No...? Keep in mind I barely even go outside of my bedroom."

Vivi rolled her eyes. "Right. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up with me at Morton's Cafe on this fine day. Well we'll probably meet up at my house and then bike there, since it's biking distance. It's a really nice little place with food and sweets and coffee and they even have a bookshelf! Well there's no horror books, but there's also a chess board so we can play that while we're there."

"Sure, I'll have to ask my mom first. I'll also need to borrow your dad's bike because I don't exactly have my own bike." I explained. "My old bike's too small for me."

"I figured. You're like what, six feet tall? I'm only 5'1", so..." Vivi trailed off.

"Six feet three inches," I sighed.

"Holy crap! You're so tall! How is it that you're so tall when your parents are only a little taller than me and my short parents!?"

"I don't know, it's just genetics. People always ask me if I play any sports and it's kind of irritating. I've never been into sports and my parents never pushed me to join any sports teams, so yeah. My grandmother made me join the school basketball when I was in sixth grade, because she wanted me to be a little more competitive. I was terrible, since I was only about your height and I was never paying attention or practicing. At my last game, I did score three times though and that felt nice."

"Huh, interesting. I never played any sports. My parents wanted me to join this one softball team one year, but I didn't want to and they were cool with it. I still don't get how you're so tall though!"

"Well I-" The bell rang, interrupting my sentence.

"How is the bell already ringing!? We barely had a conversation! How is this possible?" Vivi exclaimed angrily.

"Calm down," I told her, trying not to use any hand gestures. "I need to drop off my books at my locker and then we'll go see if that Arthur kid is okay."

"Sure. But let's hope the nurse doesn't bring up any of our medical records again," Vivi chuckled. I noted the solemn tone in her voice as we stepped out into the hallway. I wasn't going to bother her about her alleged sleeping problems though.

Everyone has that one thing they just don't want to talk about.

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><p>The second we stepped into the nurse's office, Arthur rushed over to us and asked fascinatedly, "Are you two the people who got me out of that locker?"<p>

"Yeah," I nodded, not blushing for once. "Vivi picked it and we took you to the nurse. I assume you were too out of it to remember what exactly happened?"

Arthur ran his hand through his orange hair. Well, it wasn't just orange. It looked like a mix of yellow and orange. And then his eyebrows and goatee were jet black. Who knows what color his hair was? "Oh yeah, you're that Lewis guy who saved my ass last week! Thanks, man! You too, blue!"

"It's Vivi!"

"Right, Vivi. Thanks. It was those dumbass juniors from last week who shoved me into the locker. I figured out who they were exactly after I got up from my nap. The nurse and I notified the principal, so they should be getting suspensions tomorrow. Woohoo!"

"How are you feeling now? Better?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm just fine, thanks for asking." Arthur glanced at the clock, his left eye still horribly bruised. "Well look at the time! I should get going! Thanks again guys!" He waved as he grabbed his backpack.

"Wait!" Vivi called out. "Do you want to come with us to Morton's Cafe? You know where that is?"

I swiveled towards her and gave her an urgent look as if to beg, "Please don't!"

"Eh, I'm busy tonight. My brother has a football game, so I probably won't make it. We can totally get together and talk another time though. I have study hall with you, right Lewis?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I'll see you around."

"Totally dude! I'd come with you guys, but I really am busy. Plus I gotta fix my infra red camera. Never trust your brothers with your hunting gear!" Arthur chuckled. Vivi slowly turned to me, her blue eyes the size of the moon.

"Oh. My. Gosh. An infra red camera? What kind of gear are you talking about?" she asked excitedly, acting as if she just drank a whole can of RedBull.

"It's just my ghost hunting gear. I bought it last year to do an investigation in my attic, but I don't use it as much anymore, even though I absolutely love my equipment. Sadly my brothers are always rough housing and breaking shit, so I'm constantly having to fix my gear."

"That's nice," my ecstatic friend began hyperventilating. "I like ghosts."

"Well I'll see y'all tomorrow I guess!" Arthur flashed a cheesy smile as he walked out of the nurse's office.

I was surprised when Vivi began hugging me far too tight as she squealed, "Oh my gosh, Lewis! We can make this happen! Me, you, and Arthur, we'll all hunt ghosts together! I can't believe this! It's literally a dream come true! I'm so happy I could die! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

I winced, my ears throbbing from Vivi's joyful squeals. "It could happen for sure, but I don't think it's right to befriend someone just because they have ghost hunting equipment." I told her, regretting that I probably just ruined her mood.

"Lewis, I'm extremely outgoing! I'll find another reason to like Arthur besides the fact that he has almost everything I need for my dreams to come true! Holy shit, I can't believe this is happening! The only way I'd be happier is if we had a car to store the equipment in! Oh my gosh, if that happened I'd be so happy I could just kiss you!"

Well so much for not blushing. Now I'm redder than Arthur's infra red camera. "Alright, alright, relax! We'll get this thing sorted out soon. As for now, I'll meet you at your house if my mom allows me and we'll head to that cafe you're talking about."

Vivi nodded energetically, so happy her eyes were sparkling. "Of course! I guarantee you'll have a great time! See you later, Lewis! Text me!"

She ran off before I could say another word, leaving me there blushing and wondering how my life changed so fast.

**(A/N: Well, that happened. I'm on chapter ten now. Hopefully I can write it quickly and have it posted on Thursday, but I'm being dragged down by school :P Still, I will put all of my time and effort into getting caught up with these chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a review telling me what you think, and I'll see you in the next chapter!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Fluffy Times At Morton's Cafe**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. Rights go to MysteryBen27 and company. I only own my ideas and a laptop.**

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><p>"So this Vivian girl wants to take you to a cafe now, hm?" My mom grinned, pinching my red cheek. "As in a date?"<p>

I blushed even harder, causing my mom to chuckle. "No! We're just going as friends! Companions! Acquaintances! Please don't start the teasing, we're NOT going out."

"Alright, you can go." My mom sighed in defeat, brushing her bushy purple bob out of her face. "But I just know this isn't going to stay a friendship for long."

"Mom, please stop. We've only been friends for a week and you're already pairing us together."

"Lewis and Vivian sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" my mother teased happily.

"Mom!"

"First comes love, then comes marriage," my mom sang as she scrubbed a plate. "Then comes my grandchild in a baby carriage!"

"Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!" I groaned at the top of my lungs, burrying my velvet red face in my huge hands. "Stop it!"

"Hey, at least I didn't sing the version you naughty teens came up with!"

"What naughty version?"

My dad casually walked into the room. He then belted out, "Lewis and Vivi sittin' in a tree, F-U-C-K-I-!"

"Harold!" My mom shouted angrily. "Quit it!" She yelled as she swatted him with her hand.

"I had to!" my questionable father laughed. "I'm sorry, Luc!"

"Honestly, our son is more mature than you!" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm gonna go let Vivi know I can go," I mumbled, still blushing madly. I then rushed back to my bedroom and whipped out my iPhone. I tapped on the messaging app and there was already three messages from Vivi, even though I practically just got home from school.

"Sup Lew :3 I'm still super happy about the equipment," The first message said. "Hope ur able 2 come with me, just be at my house at 5:15." "And don't worry! The food is my treat to u, I'll pay for it."

I sighed and typed, "Yeah, I can go. I'll bring some money too. We'll pay for it together. You shouldn't have to pay for any of my food."

I set my phone down and pulled out my Chemistry homework. It was a five page study guide packet I just had to fill out. I was about to put my pen to the paper when my phone went off with a ding. "Nah, I can cover it man. U don't have 2 bring any money. Anyway, I guess I'll see u at 5:15 :)!"

I sighed, tossing my phone on the bed, and began my homework. It was relatively easy. I never really had to study for tests. As long as I had a study guide to do a few days before, I would be just fine.

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><p>I hopped in the front passenger seat of my mom's car as she started the ignition. Feeling somewhat peaceful, I turned on the radio and flipped to a random station. I then glanced out of the window as we pulled out of the driveway and headed to Vivi's house. I always liked daydreaming and gazing out the window whenever we went on car rides. Short car rides, long car rides, it didn't matter. I would still daydream anyway. I was thinking about the latest book I was reading, Haze, when I remembered something that I had forgotten over and over again the whole week. Halloween.<p>

"Hey Mom?" I asked humbly, trying to take a polite approach. "Are we still going to that haunted house and doing the movie marathon on Halloween?"

"Of course! And if you want, Lewis, you can invite that Vivi girl to come with us, if she's not busy already that is. We should be polite for a change and invite her to do something with us." My mom said, practically reading my mind.

"That's exactly what I was going to ask... She already told me she didn't have plans for Halloween."

"Great! I'll talk to her parents about it when I drop you off, okay?" My mom beamed, happy I was spending Halloween with a friend for once.

"Sure," I mumbled, grinning to myself. We pulled into the driveway next to the oh-so-familiar house. Vivi yanked the little white door open almost immediately, still smiling from the news about the ghost equipment.

She dashed up to me, clad in her usual blue attire, and said enthusiastically, "I'm so glad you could make it! I already got the bikes out so we can leave right this second if we wanted to!"

"Wait a minute," I chuckled, holding up my hands. "I asked my mom about Halloween and she's letting your parents know that you're invited."

"Really? That's so cool! It's gonna be so much fun!" Vivi cheered. She adjusted her glasses and hollered to her mother, "Mooooom! We're going to the cafe now! Bye!"

"Be safe! Watch out for cars!" And with that we were off. The wind was much stronger and chillier than I had anticipated. Leaves were swirling all around us. My plum pompadour was all over the place and Vivi's hair kept blowing straight into her face. The wind was also a hindrance to our bikes, which were being swept away by the current.

"Gosh, I should have brought a jacket!" My shivering friend exclaimed through her chattering teeth. "This sweater is pretty much useless!"

"Tell me about it! It was just fine a few hours ago! It was all nice and sunny weather! It feels like the temperature plummeted twenty degrees or something!" I huddled into my purple sweatshirt hoodie as we kept biking. "How much longer until we get to the cafe?"

"Six blocks!" Vivi hollered back at me, her cheeks rosy and her lips slightly blue. I was going to have to be a gentleman and give her my jacket, aren't I?

"Hold on," I hit the brake on Mr. Hart's bicycle. "Stop for a second."

"What is it?" My ice cold friend asked as I pulled off my hoodie. "You don't have to do that!"

"Just take it," I muttered, handing her the oversized sweatshirt. "I have this long-sleeved shirt on underneath, so I'll be okay. You can give it back later."

Vivi hopped off her bike and threw on the hoodie. The giant, lilac sweatshirt went down to her knees it was so big on her. "Wow," she said, pulling up the hood. "I'm gonna have to borrow your jackets more often! How is it that hoodies for guys are so much warmer!?"

"It's the world's greatest mystery," I shrugged, shivering. "Next to socks disappearing from the laundry machine, that is."

"Oh my gosh that happens to you too!?" My ghost loving friend exclaimed, climbing back on her bike.

We sped all the way to Morton's Cafe, a little building on the corner of the street. There were little tables surrounding the area outside. I held open the door for Vivi and a rush of warm air blew into my face as we shuffled into the cafe. My eyes scanned the little cafe, taking in the diner interior and the small tables with tiny, but comfortable looking chairs. My stomach grumbled from the smell of food wafting from behind the counter. Vivi took my oversized hand and pulled me over to a booth in the corner. There, we sat down and looked at the menu.

"Ugh, I'm still chilly from the windstorm out there," Vivi cringed, burrowing into the hoodie I lent her. "So what are ya in the mood for? I'm thinking hot chocolate. I don't drink coffee, and I could use something warm, so hot chocolate would be a nice choice for me. How about you?"

She doesn't drink coffee? You mean all of that energy is just there..? My gosh...

"Eh, I think I'll get a sandwich or something. I'm pretty hungry. Maybe a grilled cheese or something." I shrugged, my stomach growling once more.

"Eyy, Vivi! See ya brought a guy here!" The waitress chuckled, coming at us with her notepad. She was attractive, with curly green hair and freckles. She seemed tall and lanky, but she was probably wearing heels of some sort. I think she had to be no older than twenty-two. She grinned mischievously, showing off two gaps in her smile where teeth should be. "Who's this fellow?"

"Shut it, Patricia, it's just my friend Lewis," Vivi giggled. She was probably very familiar with this waitress. "I had to show him this place."

"Good thinking, now what can I get you two?" Patricia asked, whipping out a pen.

"Hm... We'll both have grilled cheese and hot chocolate, how does that sound?"

"Great," I nodded, trying not to stare at Vivi's friend.

"Alrighty then, I'll be back with your food in a jiffy, lovebirds!" Patricia teased, leaving us there to soak in her words.

Vivi sighed and told me, "Don't listen to her, she likes to tease me all the time. I'm a regular here, and she's always my waitress, so we've formed some kind of friendship. Plus I knew her when she was a student assistant at the middle school. She's usually flirting with guys too, but I guess she's trying to make a good impression this time."

"I see. But why does she have missing teeth?"

"Well she had some kind of oral surgery when she was younger and the procedure went wrong, so she was stuck with two gaps in her mouth. Or something like that. Don't tell Patricia you feel sorry for her though, she's overly confident about her 'unique feature.' She says it makes her look prettier, which I'm not saying it's ugly, but she can be defensive about it, so I'm just warning you."

"Okay then," I sighed. "So what do you think about Arthur? I mean, he's okay, but we're not befriending him for his equipment. I say we get to know him better before letting him in on our paranormal investigation group. Speaking of which, what are we going to call ourselves?"

"Hm, that's an excellent question!" Vivi exclaimed, stroking her chin as she pondered over my words. "Let's go with something cool, like... The Ghost Whisperers? Nah. I don't know, I don't want to pick a lame title like ones from kids' cartoons. Let's think about it when the time comes. And about Arthur, I agree with you. He seems nice and has good friend potential, but he's really... What's the word?"

"Wimpy? Cowardly?"

"Yeah, that's it! He's really cowardly, and when it comes to ghost hunting, you have to be brave and emotionally stable. You know, my brothers' old friends told me if I wanted to join them on their cases, I had to block my emotions from any entities, because if you open yourself up, they could possibly take that as an invitation and use you as a vessel for possession. And if we're doing any investigations with malevolent beings, it would be a huge risk to have someone so emotional on the case."

I nodded in agreement. "Good point, Vivi. We could always teach him to conceal his fear though. Make sure it doesn't build up and lead to a panic attack or something. Maybe-"

"Alright fellas, your food is served!" Patricia cheered, interrupting my sentence. She set two plates of steamy, warm grilled cheese sandwiches in front of us and put one giant mug of hot cocoa in between us. One drink... But two straws...? "Bon appetite!"

"Uh... Patricia?" Vivi asked, motioning towards the mug of hot chocolate. "How come there's only one mug?"

Without saying a word, the green haired girl took our two straws and placed them in the drink, wagging her eyebrows at us. I began to blush the color of a fire truck and Vivi rolled her eyes. "Are you serious? C'mon Patty, I ordered two drinks! Not one."

Grinning deviously, the young waitress teased, "Well I assumed you were here as a couple. After all, you ARE wearing his sweater, and 'just friends' don't wear each other's sweaters."

"Just get us another hot chocolate already," Vivi sighed, rubbing her temples in exhaustion. "And how did you know this was his hoodie?"

"Dude, you've been coming here for over a year and this is the first time I've seen you wearing something other than blue. And his hair is purple, too! And his clothes. Am I the only one who questions why people try to wear clothes that match their hair color?" Patricia inquired.

We both stared at her silently with confused expressions on her faces. "What?"

"Never mind," Patricia sighed longingly. "I'll go get you little weirdos your second cup of hot cocoa."

I waited until after the odd waitress left before turning to Vivi and whispering, "What the heck was she talking about?"

"Who knows," she shrugged. "Now let's dig in!" My blue haired friend began stuffing the sandwich in her mouth as if she hadn't eaten for days. "Aww, it's soooooo good and tasty! Try yours, Lewis!"

I took a bite of my grilled cheese sandwich. It wasn't good. It was scrumptious. It was grilled just right, with perfectly buttery bread and creamy, melted cheese. It wasn't the best sandwich I ever had, but I was hungry and it was tasting mighty fine right now. I devoured my sandwich quickly, as did Vivi. In fact, we finished our food before Patricia came back. The only problem was she didn't have an extra mug in her hands.

"Uh, small problem guys. We're out of hot chocolate." she winced.

"Can't they just make more?" Vivi asked skeptically.

"I'm afraid not, we're completely out of our main ingredients for tonight."

"What about pouring this one giant mug of hot cocoa into two smaller mugs?" I suggested.

"Or how about just one of us ordering a different drink?" my friend added.

"Jeez, you two won't let me do any matchmaking! You guys are impossible!" Patricia grinned, blowing a strand of green hair out of her face. "I did bring your receipt if you wanted to look at it." she said, handing the slip of paper to Vivi. It read:

_Grilled cheese... $4.20_  
><em>Grilled cheese... $4.20<em>  
><em>Hot coco... $2.05<em>  
><em>Hot coco... $2.05<em>  
><em>Tax... $1.02<em>  
><em>Total... $11.47<em>

"So?" I questioned. I glanced over at Vivi, who looked particularly scared. Then I knew. "Vivi. How much money did you bring?"

"Seven dollars," she sqweaked. "I thought we were only gonna get beverages, so..." her voice trailed off. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I have three dollars, which would cover a little more. We'd still owe $1.46 though. Can't you cut us some slack?" I asked Patricia, who was more irritating than attractive right now.

"Sorry kid," she shrugged. "Restaurant rules. I'd pay for it, but I didn't get any tips today. You know, you'd be A-okay if you just share the one hot chocolate you have. If you do that, you won't have to pay as much. I'll let you two decide," the waitress shuffled away, leaving us with our financial crisis.

"Don't worry, you can have it, Vivi. Besides, you're the one who wanted the hot chocolate in the first place." I reassured her, pushing the nearly cold drink towards her.

"It's not even warm anymore," my friend smiled sadly. "Who would want room temperature chocolate? Ugh, I know why Patty's doing this. She's doing it to get back at me for a rude comment I made to her last week. I thought she got over it, but I guess not."

"Ah, well if that's the case then we should just go then, I guess." I told her, patting her back. "It's not your fault. Just your devious friend who's trying desperately to hook us up. You want me to go to the counter and deal with it?"

Vivi nodded, snuggling into my sweater... Which I found very awkward, but I had to put up with it. I stood up, grabbing my receipt and the money, and went over to the counter. Patricia was waiting there with a somewhat smug look on her face.

"So did ya make up your minds?" she asked, her expression nonchalant, yet unwelcoming.

"Yeah," I responded coldly, setting the money and receipt in front of her. "Take the second hot cocoa off the bill."

"Okay." there was clicking and clacking as she typed numbers into the cash register. "Here ya go,"

I took the change and before leaving, I added, "And what you did to Vivi was just rude. You know she was looking forward to this."

I glared at the green haired waitress before heading back towards our booth and leaving her with her guilt. I handed a solemn Vivi her change and we paraded back outside into the chilly weather. The wind wasn't as chilly as Patricia, though. We went over to our bikes and took them off the bike lock. It was slowly getting darker and darker outside. I couldn't help but think about how rude our waitress was to us. And Vivi calls her a friend? Patricia seemed more careless and manipulative than friendly. Besides the food, who would she even go to this place so often?

"I'm sorry," Vivi apologized somberly, looking down at the ground. "I should've known to bring more money. And I should've gotten a different waitress too. Patricia's nice and all, don't get me wrong, we just caught her on a bad day. Gosh, I ruined this whole thing for you. I'm so sorry." A single tear rolled down her cheek, making a chill run down my spine. Vivi was usually the happy, cheerful one and here she is, crying in front of me.

Man, I felt like a jerk.

"It's okay, it's okay!" I consoled her, panicking slightly. Blushing profusely. "Don't cry! It wasn't your fault, it just didn't go as planned. Now c'mon, let's just leave this place."

My only friend still stayed put, staring at the ground with more tears welling up in her sad blue eyes. I didn't know what to say. I haven't been in this situation in eons. Not knowing what to do, I just uncomfortably wrapped my large arms around her small frame and hugged her. I stood there, frozen while Vivi was stiff, crying so quietly into my chest it was hard to tell if she was even crying. It was extremely awkward, to say the least, but I was doing the best I could. "This is so embarrassing," my friend mumbled, her voice shaky. We were kind of huddled together, like penguins. It was weird, but somehow I felt warmer when I was hugging her. Unsure of what else to do, I tried to do some of the old things my grandmother did to comfort me when I was younger, which was barely ever.

I pulled Vivi even closer to me and patted her head lightly. I didn't know why, but her crying made me feel unsettled and guilty, like when you accidentally step on a cat's tail or when you hurt someone's feelings. My blue haired friend's weeping was now reduced to almost nothing. It made me feel a little better, but it was still unnerving. Finally, after standing in the cold for another three minutes, she was completely silent and there were no more tears. After I let go, exhausted, Vivi was mostly back to her normal self, chipper and energetic.

"Thank you Lewis," Vivi whispered softly as she climbed back onto her bike. "C'mon, let's head back to my place before we both catch colds."

"Totally," I let out an exasperated sigh. As we began to pedal away, I glanced back into Morton's Cafe to see Patricia, the cause of our problem, smiling at us warmly with a knowing look in her eyes, as if to say I was doing something right for once.

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><p><strong>(AN: Yeah, I know, that seemed a little OOC. But I think Vivi would be the kind of person to get flustered over backfiring plans, so there you have it. Also, I didn't mean to make Patricia a complete bitch. Oops XD oh well. Sadly chapter ten still isn't done cause I'm busy with stuff, so if it's not up tomorrow you know why. I'm also considering to take a break from posting a chapter daily, as much as it saddens me. If I do, I'll probably write three to five chapters to keep ahead and then just go back to posting daily. Remember, I might do this, but I might not do this. Well enough of that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review telling me what you thought and I'll see you in the next chapter! Hopefully XD)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- Return to Morton's**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to MysteryBen27 and company, except for the boring adults and Patricia, who I accidentally made a complete bitch. Oh well XD Btw, I do not own 'The Goatman,' a creepypasta, either.**

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><p>Last night's events were probably either going to be events we would laugh and joke about in the future, or events we would never speak of ever again. And right now, the second one was sounding much better. I had forgotten to retrieve my sweatshirt from Vivi, so I most likely wouldn't ever get it back. Oh well. My mother had asked me this morning where my hoodie disappeared off to and I shrugged, saying I wasn't sure myself. She didn't seem convinced, but she shrugged it off, thankfully.<p>

Now I was heading to Study Hall, shuffling awkwardly down the hallway. Vivi was back to normal, dismissing the whole ordeal as if it never happened, but I still felt uncomfortable about it. I had asked her about Patricia and her rude attitude in free period. My friend responded saying she was just going to 'forgive her and forget about it.' Forgive and forget? More like resent and remember. At least Arthur wasn't there to see the whole thing go down, that would've made the situation worse.

The second I put my foot through the door, Arthur was rushing up to me, calling out, "Yo Lewis!" He flashed a toothy grin. "How did yesterday with that blue haired chick go? I'm sorry I couldn't make it. We'll have to hang out over the weekend or something. But how was it?"

"It was okay," I replied hesitantly, not wanting to give out any details. "Didn't exactly go as planned, but it was fine."

I sat down in my usual spot in the back corner and Arthur followed close behind. He was wearing his usual dorky getup, the no-sleeve orange bubble jacket and sweat pants. Most of the bruises on him were fading quickly, minus the black and purple around his left eye. "Say," the boy's eyes widened curiously. "Your friend from yesterday, she was really interested in talking about my ghost gear. Is she into the supernatural, too?"

"Yes, and I am, as well. But Vivi's way more passionate about horror and ghost hunting than I am. I just find it amusing." I explained, shivering slightly because of the breeze coming from the vent behind me.

"So that's the case," Arthur spoke, stroking his tiny goatee. "I've recently been studying and observing how the ghosts react to different spiritual equipment. I'm trying to figure out how exactly ghosts can manipulate the gear and other objects. I don't get a kick out of the thrills like others do, but I find the science of ghost hunting intriguing. How about you?"

"Well..." I took a moment to clear my throat. "I haven't exactly had any paranormal experiences, but I guess I'm fascinated with how ghosts would behave, if I ever see one. That's usually what I find more compelling in books. Vivi enjoys the paranormal in general. She's a big thrill-seeker too. She even plans on going into the spiritual investigation field sooner or later."

"Cool, I didn't think I'd have much in common with that Vivi girl. I think it would be super fun to start a ghost hunting group. Is she actually gonna do it or is she just saying that?" Arthur interrogated, tapping his pencil rhythmically on my desk.

"Vivi's determined to go into the ghost field, as far as I know," I described to the yellow haired boy. "Her brother used to do investigations, so she wants to borrow his old equipment to start her own cases. He won't let her have it, but that girl's stubborn when it comes to ghosts. She'll win eventually. Vivi doesn't have the materials for ghost hunting, but she's got the dream, I guess. I agreed to join her when she finally does get some gear, actually."

"You know, I went out and bought a good amount of equipment last year. I've got infra-red cameras, EVP recorders, an EMF detector, some night-vision cameras, even a few motion detectors! I think she'd be interested in knowing I share a few things in common with her. My gear is mostly in good shape, besides my two brothers constantly breaking everything. I can easily fix it though. Anyway, I'll have to talk to you and that Vivi girl more often," Arthur fished out a tiny slip of paper and dropped it in my humongous hands, "Here's my number. You've got a phone, right?"

"Yeah, I have one. I also have Vivi's number, too." I said stiffly. "I could give her your phone number, if you're okay with it."

"Totally. And I forgot to say, thanks about yesterday again. If it weren't for you and Vivi getting that locker open, I would've been stuck in there all day! I owe you guys big time! I'm kinda sorry I didn't really thank you two that much yesterday.."

"Don't worry, that's fine," I reassured him, "I hope those two jackasses get what they deserve for shoving you in a locker, though. I don't get how they find screwing with people so entertaining."

"They should be getting sent to the principal's office right about now. The school counselor actually wanted us to have some kind of group mediation today, but I turned her down. There's no way I would ever do a stupid group therapy session with those idiots." Arthur paused, stopping to think about who knows what. "Hey Lewis, can I see that slip of paper I gave you for a sec?"

I quietly handed him the paper and began scribbling something at the bottom in pencil. It looked like an address. When he finished writing, I asked curiously, "Are you left handed?"

"Nah, I'm a righty at heart, but I can write with both hands, whatever it's called."

"You mean you're ambidextrous?"

"Yeah that's it," Arthur beamed. "I've always been able to write with both hands. That kind of thing helps when you're always having to fix stuff. Not just my ghost gear, but other things too. I'm a middle child, and my two brothers are always roughhousing, so things are constantly getting broken. I've fixed cell phones, TV remotes, computers, furniture, car parts, and pretty much everything under the sun. So having dexterity in both hands is a true advantage when it comes to being a mechanic like me."

"Interesting," I murmured. "I don't know too much about mechanics, aside from knowing how to operate a car. Okay I don't know anything about mechanics..."

"Good luck dealing with me then," The orange haired boy chortled. "I can ramble on forever about my gear and how it works and mechanics forever. It may not seem like that at first, but you'll see it eventually."

"You don't look like a person who enjoys mechanics. Especially since you kind of look like a freshman." I spoke hesitantly.

"Everyone says that! I don't get it! I even have a goatee! What could possibly make me look so much like a freshman?" Arthur exclaimed furiously, throwing his hands up in the air.

"You've got a... How do I say this? You've got the face of sixth grader, minus the facial hair." I pointed out, shifting uncomfortably in my tiny desk.

"What? No way!"

"It's true... You have a bit of a baby face..." I trailed off as the bell began to ring obnoxiously loud.

"Later Lewis," Arthur waved, heading towards the door. "Text me sometime after class!"

I nodded silently, grabbing my books and making the journey to my lunch period. I shuffled through the overcrowded halls and finally reached the cafeteria. There, I pulled out my homemade lunch and started eating, thinking about Arthur and Vivi and Patricia and all of that fun stuff.

I pondered about how Vivi and Arthur would make good friends. They were both cheerful, they were both passionate about ghost hunting, they were even almost the same height, despite Arthur being just slightly taller. Yet somehow I liked being around Vivi more. She was less awkward, she made me feel a bit more welcome, I just felt more comfortable around her. Maybe it's because we had been friends longer, yeah that's it.

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><p>I curled up in my desk chair the second I got home from school and continued my creepypasta spree. Now I was rereading The Goatman for probably the third time because the story was just way too confusing. It was about these kids and the narrator's redneck cousin going camping in a forest and being terrorized by a shape shifting, pig eating creature. I was at the part where the group was hiding from The Goatman in a trailer when they realized they had handed out a hot dog to a twelfth person, despite there only being eleven people, who each got one hot dog only. It was a fairly interesting story, but it was extremely chaotic and there weren't many explanations as to what was happening, which made the creepypasta somewhat confusing.<p>

I was just getting into the story when my phone began to vibrate furiously on the bed next to me. Sighing in annoyance, I stopped reading and snatched my phone. It was from Vivi, of course. "_Lewis, I sorted things out with Patricia 2day and as an apology she said the next time we go 2 Morton's 2gether she'll pay for everything! Isn't that nice? So maybe u, me, and Arthur could go there for lunch tomorrow :)!_"

Oh dear. I didn't trust that waitress's offer one bit. After what she did to Vivi, there was no way she was going to redeem my first impression of her. This was a horrible idea. "_Do you even want to go back there after what happened yesterday?"_ I texted back.

_"I'm there right now,"_ my blue haired friend replied not even a second later. _"And Patricia swears that she's not gonna screw up our orders or behave like that again. Her manager seconds this XD."_

I let out a deep groan before responding, _"Fine. I'll let Arthur know about this. I'll need details, though. And if Patricia fucks up again I'm going to have to have a talk with her."_

I dropped my cell phone back on the bed and began rubbing my temples to relieve my stress. This is definitely going to go wrong, I just know it. I've barely overcome the challenge of maintaining a friendship, and now I'll have to keep up with two people. Even worse, what if that waitress makes Vivi cry again? It'll definitely be chaotic, especially with Arthur around. But what if it goes perfectly fine? Maybe Patricia's apology was genuine and we'll not only have free food, but we'll also get to know Arthur better. This could go horribly wrong or it could go smoothly-

My phone began vibrating like crazy, another message from Vivi. "_It'll be fine! I guess we could all just meet up there around lunch time tomorrow, like 1 or 2 PM. I'd bike, but it's even colder now, so I'd rather not. Btw, what's Arthur's phone #? I could just tell him about it."_

I quickly texted his phone number to Vivi and then texted Arthur. I waited for five minutes, but neither of them replied so I just went back to reading creepypasta. I browsed through stories and passages nonchalantly until my thoughts somehow managed to get in the way. I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. So much could go wrong in so little time.

I grabbed my phone and checked to see two messages. One from Vivi, one from Arthur. The text from Arthur read, "_I know. Vivi beat me to it. I'll have to ask my dad, but I'm pretty sure he'll be okay with it since there's no games tomorrow afternoon. That's all he cares about. Anyway, I actually live near Morton's, so I can walk."_

I yawned and switched over to the message from Vivi. _"Arthur confirms he'll be there 2morrow. Yay :)! Let me know if you're able 2 make it, kay? If so, I'll see u 2morrow :D and PS, Patricia says 'hi, Vivi's boyfriend.'"_

Vivi's message wasn't reassuring in the slightest. All I could think about was how tomorrow was going to be total chaos. I thought about bailing out of it, simply telling her that I was busy. But I couldn't, as much as I wanted to. It just didn't feel right lying to Vivi about my plans. And besides, if I didn't go, Vivi would be stuck with Arthur. He seemed nice, but I still didn't trust him.

I collapsed onto my bed, completely worn out. I wanted to go to sleep, even though it was only early in the evening. Oh well, I thought, rolling over on my side. A little nap wouldn't hurt. But it wouldn't solve my problems, either.

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><p>The next day I found myself back at Morton's Cafe, where everything went down two days ago. I really didn't want to be back there, but I had to do it for my friend. Plus there was free food involved. I hesitantly pushed open the door and strolled in, scanning the cafe for Vivi. She wasn't in sight at all, to my dismay. I quickly hustled over to the booth in the corner and sat down, anxiously waiting for my blue haired friend to arrive.<p>

The whole thing was strange. It's only been eight days since I've known Vivi, and now suddenly we were good companions. Was it supposed to work this way? I mean, isn't it supposed to take longer for a friendship to form? Who knows? I wouldn't. My cousin Alfonso met his best friend one fateful day in third grade. They were seated next to each other in an assembly and they started up a small conversation since they were both fairly bored. They just clicked. He said they just kept on talking and they were best friends ever since.

So maybe it was okay to rush into a friendship like this. There was one thing that worried me though. Something lingering at the back of my mind, which just kept nagging me and nagging me. Was Vivi safe to trust? I trusted her, but you never know with people these days. Sometimes, the most unlikely people are the ones who break their promises, or tell others your secrets. My grandmother had once told me that back in her day, it was easy to tell who was trustworthy and who wasn't, but now you never know who the liars are. So far I was diving into this friendship headfirst, trying to keep up my side of the conversation and telling her personal things about me. I even told her about my grandmother, and barely anyone knows about that! Vivi looked very trustworthy, but she could turn her back on me at any second.

I wish I had someone there to tell me how to pull off this friendship correctly. Because I don't know how it works anymore.

While I was wandering deep in my mind, I didn't notice Patricia approaching me, so I was startled when she asked, "You're Vivi's friend from the other day... Lewis, right?"

I jumped, causing her to chuckle a little. "I just want to tell ya I feel sorry about how I acted the other day. I was only trying to be funny, but I didn't realize at the time I was being more immature than humorous. I should've thought about how much Vivi was looking forward to the other day. For the past week she's been talking about you nonstop. That girl would not shut up about you so I suggested she bring you here. And then I screwed up. I wanted to do this for the two of you cause I'm sorry. So yeah."

I glared at the green haired waitress, not believing her bullshit for a second, but the guilty expression on her freckled face seemed completely genuine. She swept a strand of curly hair out of her face before continuing, "Look, I'm not that good with this whole apologizing thing. So I wanted to do this for you guys. I'll pay for the food, too. I don't care if you take my apology as bull crap, but at least take it. And I wanted to say one more thing," she placed her pale hand on my shoulder, making me flinch. "I saw you two outside the other day, and I think you trying to comfort the girl was very nice. It's not often you find a guy who isn't a complete moron. I wanted to tell you that you're a great friend for Vivi, even though you're kinda quiet."

I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door swinging open and a, "Hey Lewis!" Vivi dashed over to me, cheerful and chipper as usual. Patricia grinned and walked away from our table. My short, blue haired friend slid into the booth and scooted over until she was next to me. "Did you see Arthur at all yet?" she beamed.

"Nope. Are we waiting for him to show up before ordering?" I asked, looking longingly at the menus as my stomach began to grumble.

"Of course, silly! We have to be patient, even though I'm pretty hungry." Vivi stated, adjusting her glasses. "If it interests you, last night I was doing some research about ghost attachments and I found some pretty cool stuff. According to this one website, ghosts can tend to linger in places that they were emotionally attached to when they were alive. Apparently, they can also latch onto inanimate objects, buildings, or even people who they were once emotionally attached to. It might not be true, but isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, I guess. I haven't looked into actual paranormal research a lot, I just know some background info from books. If you can call that information."

"Really? Okay then. I've got some cool websites you could check out. I'll send you links via email sometime tomorrow, if you want." Vivi informed me.

"Nah, I'll be fine without-" I was disrupted yet again by Arthur swinging the door open, a little bell pinging as he walked in. He looked like a big orange marshmallow with his heavy bubble coat on. Vivi swerved around to look at him.

"Oh, hey Arthur! Why did you bring a dog?" she questioned, a confused expression on her face.

"A dog?" I stood up to see a small husky-like dog standing next to the orange haired boy. The dog was mostly white with black paws, but what stood out most was its red and black mane, which looked almost like hair. He also had yellow spectacles, which I found pretty odd, to say the least.

"His name is Mystery," Arthur beamed as he bent down to pet the dog. "I've had him since I was a kid and he goes everywhere with me."

"He's cute!" Vivi exclaimed as she joined in on petting the strange dog. I was never an animal person, but dogs were okay. "I'm Vivi," she told the dog as if it could understand her. "And this is Lewis. We're Arthur's classmates."

"What dog?" Patricia asked curiously from behind the counter. She poked her head out and crinkled her nose. "I hate to burst your bubble, but you know dogs aren't allowed in here, right?"

"Oh it's okay, he's well trained," Arthur explained as he sat back in the booth with Vivi and I. "C'mere, Mystery!"

The dog hopped into the booth next to Arthur and sat down, giving the waitress a smug look as if to say, "_You were saying?"_ I didn't think dogs were able to act sassy, but this one just proved me wrong.

"Oh dear," the green haired waitress sighed in defeat. "Fine, you can stay. As long as my boss never sees this. Comprende?"

"Comprende," we all replied simultaneously. Mystery nodded as if he understood too.

"So," Arthur questioned, rubbing his hands together. "What's on the menu?"

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><p><strong>(AN: Woo! It's one day late, but here's chapter ten! I'm probably going to take the weekend to get ahead on chapters 11-14, maybe 15. Keep an eye out for the next chapter :] And I also wanted to say thank you for all of the kind reviews and constructive criticism I've been getting so far! It's been quite helpful! Anyway, let me know what you think and I'll see you in the next chapter!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- Return to Morton's, Part Two**

**Disclaimer: As usual, all characters belong to MysteryBen27 and company. I only own these ideas and my laptop.**

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><p>"So you're into the supernatural?" Arthur asked Vivi excitedly the second after we all ordered our food.<p>

"Definitely, I can't think of a time where I wasn't obsessed with ghosts!" Vivi exclaimed. Mystery's ears perked up when she said, 'ghosts.' "I really want to go into paranormal investigation when I'm a little older, too!"

"Sweet! Ghosts kinda creep me out, but I love the science behind it, you know? It's interesting how they react with objects and how they manifest and all."

My blue haired friend shifted in her seat and continued, "Huh, I never thought about that. That's another reason why my brother seriously needs to let me have his ghost equipment. He never uses it anymore and he keeps it stored somewhere in his house, but he won't let me use it because he doesn't want me getting involved in 'dangerous situations.' I respect his cautiousness, but I know how to handle these things. I know how take precautions, yet he still doesn't trust me."

"That sucks," Arthur objected. "Putting good ghost gear to waste. But hey, brothers are brothers, right?"

"Tell me about it, they can be so annoying." Vivi huffed. "And I only have one!"

Arthur rolled his eyes and joked, "You have it easy. I have two brothers! Two of them!"

"I'm an only child," I piped up. The two teens slowly turned towards me, both with envious expressions on their faces.

"You're so lucky!" The orange haired boy exclaimed in jealously. "You have no idea what suffering we went through!"

"It's kind of lonely though," I mumbled quietly. "I mean, I have a ton of cousins but I only see them during holidays. I actually wouldn't mind having a sibling or two."

"I guess it matters on how this sibling would turn out. Maybe you guys would be best friends, but your nonexistent sibling could also end up like my lame brother. Or whatever kind of brothers Arthur has." Vivi explained.

"They're rowdy. They play too many sports. They break pretty much everything in sight. Yet I'm stuck in their shadows." Arthur spoke, sounding slightly frustrated.

To lighten up the mood, I let out a forced chuckle and told him, "That sounds like a lot of my younger cousins, minus the sports. And they speak a lot of Italian."

"You speak Italian? I thought you were Hispanic!" The yellow haired boy exclaimed, stroking his goatee.

I took in a deep and pained sigh before continuing, "I'm not Hispanic, I'm Italian. I get mistaken for a Mexican so much it's not even funny."

"It's true! My mom thought he was Spanish!" Vivi added.

"Sorry Lewis," Arthur giggled, putting his hands up in defense. "You're just really tan, you know? But dude, can you speak Italian too?"

"Yeah, but it's really not a big deal." I told him, a small amount of blush forming on my face. Arthur was oblivious to my anxiousness, but Vivi and Mystery were both staring directly at my face. They knew.

"Yo guys, food's here!" Patricia announced as she set different plates and mugs on the table, thankfully taking the attention off of me. "And Vivi, forgot to ask. Who's this?" she inquired, motioning towards Arthur.

"That's Arthur, he's another one of my friends from school." she explained to the waitress. "And his dog's name is Mystery."

"Oi, you're getting all the boys recently! More than me!" Patricia teased. "Well, bon appetite. Call me over if you need anything!"

We nodded quietly and ate our lunches in silence. I remembered how my grandmother would always say, "If it's good, guests will be too busy eating to uphold a conversation." The food was decent, I guess. I just didn't feel like talking. We all got hot chocolate again, this time in separate mugs. Vivi and I had ordered grilled cheese sandwiches while Arthur got a sub sandwich. We didn't come up for air until our food disappeared.

"That hit the spot," Vivi smiled, sitting back in her seat. "How about you?"

"Delicious, and Mystery enjoyed his portion of my sandwich too! That dog gets a little bit of all of my food, the spoiled brat!" The orange haired boy chortled. Mystery watched him as if to say, "You got that right, human!"

"He's such a cute dog!" Vivi remarked, reaching over the table to pet him. "But why does he wear glasses?"

"Beats me! I trained him to wear glasses one day when he was a pup and he didn't take them off since! If they fall off, he just drops them in front of me as if to say, 'put these back on my face!' It's weird, how easy it is to understand Mystery. I bet he was human in a past life or something," Arthur jested.

"Did you train him all of these things when he was younger?" I asked, trying to be part of the conversation.

"Yeah, I taught him a lot of commands, but I have a feeling he just knows how to do some on his own. I found him as a stray when I was about seven years old. I had seen him around every now and then, but then one day this group of jerks were trying corner me in an alley and then Mystery just showed up and scared them away somehow. He proceeded to follow me back to my old home and we kept him ever since. I taught Mystery all the fun stuff when I was a little older, like handing me my equipment or how to open a door. He's wicked smart now. Sometimes I'm even outsmarted by him!" he explained.

"Pets can be like that sometimes," Vivi chuckled. "We had a cat when I was younger and she was pretty clever. Then again, a lot of animals are somewhat intelligent."

"Yup, that's Mystery!" The orange haired boy quickly swapped subjects. "I was wondering, have you ever had any paranormal experiences? Like have you ever encountered any ghosts?"

"With my brother's ghost hunting crew, totally," she went on to tell Arthur the same stories she told me. The lighthouse, the mental asylum, all of that. "It was amazing, when he took me on cases with him. It was short lived, but probably the best fun I had in my whole life, even though we had to do a lot of waiting."

"Your brother sounds like a cool person. Well, sounded like a cool person," Arthur corrected himself.

"Yeah, he's not that cool anymore. My brother went from chill ghost hunter to lame business man within a year! It's interesting how people can change their personalities on a whim like that," Vivi stated wistfully.

"Well that sucks," Arthur sighed. "Anyway, how about you, Lewis? Did you ever have any ghost encounters?"

"Yeah, I have a few little stories from when I was a child, but I'm not even sure if it was paranormal." I explained to him. "Just some weird stuff going on in my grandmother's old house."

"It was totally real!" My blue fanatic friend added energetically. "Go ahead, tell him! I thought your story was super cool!"

"Okay then," I spoke hesitantly. "When I was younger, my grandmother would let me spend the night at her house sometimes. I would hear voices beckoning me and stuff, and I thought it was her because it was in Italian, but it wasn't."

"It wasn't in Italian?" Arthur piped up, interrupting me. I swore I saw Mystery cringe and roll his eyes.

"No doofus, he meant the voice wasn't his grandmother's!" Vivi howled with laughter.

"Oh," the orange haired boy chuckled half-heartedly. "Right. Continue on then."

"This happened every single time I'd go to her house. She would also be complaining about misplaced items a lot, too. I think. One day someone or something was calling me from the attic, so I climbed up. I can't remember what happened, but my grandmother had woken up from her nap to find me struggling to put on a noose I tied wrong. She scolded me for it, of course. She stopped though when I told her it was this green light that taught me how to do it. She said she only believed me because I couldn't even tie my own shoes at the time."

Arthur began to stroke his tiny black goatee and pointed out, "It's funny you say that, because there's been some weird stuff going on in my attic recently. I think it's haunted, but my parents don't believe me because they've never noticed it for themselves. They think I made it up cause we've only been living in that house for about two years. There's always thumping coming from up there and it's too loud to be an animal. I've had my things moved around too, but I'm pretty sure that's just my nosy brothers. Mystery's okay with the house now, but he was extremely skeptical when we first moved in. He wouldn't leave my side and he didn't dare go near the attic. I've done little investigations up there when I was home alone with just Mystery. I never caught any electronic voice phenomena, but I did get a lot of EMF spikes and caught some footage of things falling over on their own. I always try to see how the entity in the attic manipulates different items and objects. It's pretty creepy."

Vivi listened to him, her eyes lit up with interest. "Sweet! We should totally check it out sometime!" she exclaimed happily.

"Eh, I dunno," Arthur said nervously, running a hand through his yellowy orange hair. "I don't think that would work out too well, since I'm only able to do my investigations when my parents and brothers aren't home. Besides, Lewis's story sounds much cooler. You should ask your grandmother about that day, dude."

My face softened to a more solemn expression, against my will. Vivi threw me a sympathetic glance and Mystery was staring at me, as if he was trying to peer into my soul. Arthur just continued rambling about my ghost story. It had been three years since my grandmother passed away, and I was coping fine, but certain things about her would still put me into a grieving mood every now and then.

When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I already knew she wasn't going to live much longer but it really didn't hit me until about two weeks before she died. I was visiting her at the hospital on a daily basis and one day, when I walked into the room, she stared directly at me and asked, "Who are you?" I broke down, even though I had known she'd forget me at some point. For those last two weeks, some days my grandmother would remember me and other days she'd act as if I were a complete stranger. But even when she did remember me, she would always be whispering random nonsense in Italian. Usually it was things you wouldn't even hear out of a toddler's mouth, completely demented babbling. The day she told me she was going to disappear was the day before she actually disappeared. I saw it coming, yet I cried my eyes out anyway.

I still loved my grandmother, and I missed her even though she mistreated me as a young child.

"I can't ask her," I finally told Arthur, trying to hide the sadness in my expression. "She's been gone for a few years now."

"I'm sorry, man. I didn't know. But your story does sound pretty interesting. Was the house close by?" he asked in response, scratching his head.

"Yes, the house is actually located close by this cafe. Like six blocks or so. I'm pretty sure a new family moved in long ago." I explained.

Vivi placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ah cool, I'd say we could check it out, but I don't think you'd like that. Anyway, I'll be right back. I'm going to the little lady's room."

I scooted out of the booth, blushing, so my blue haired friend could get out. I sat back down and shifted in my spot after she left. I silently glanced across the table at Arthur and Mystery. Arthur was equally quiet and the dog was giving me a peculiar look, as if to tease, "What are you blushing for?"

This only made my face redden even more.

"Here's your receipt!" Patricia announced, popping up out of nowhere. She laughed at my startled expression and said, "I don't know how much longer you three are hanging around here, but tell Vivi I paid for everything."

"You don't have to do that!" Arthur exclaimed anxiously.

"Of course I do," the waitress replied, sweeping more hair out of her face. She had so much hair I was surprised it hadn't shown up in our food yet. "I owe y'all after what happened the other day."

"What happened?"

"Nothing!" Patricia and I chimed in unison.

Vivi plopped down next to me, beaming as usual. She picked up the receipt and scanned it with her electric blue eyes before asking, "What time is it?"

Arthur studied his watch briefly and muttered, "Crap, it's 3:37. I actually have to get home pretty soon because my younger brother has a basketball game tonight. "Well, I guess I'll see you two around! I'm pretty sure Mystery liked your company, too!"

"Bye guys!" Vivi waved as Arthur headed towards the door. "We'll totally have to get together again another time! Right, Lewis?"

"Yeah definitely!" I said happily, flashing the orange haired boy a half-smile. "I had a good time."

"Me too! I'll see you on Monday! Now c'mere Mystery!" Arthur called, the dog leaping off of his spot and following him out the door.

I sat there and blinked. "Well, that ended quickly."

"You got that right," Vivi sighed contently. "What do you think about Arthur?"

"He's friendly, but a bit clueless." I commented. "And he's pretty emotional, too."

"Eh, I like him. He likes ghosts, not the same way as me, but he still has a passion for it."

"Ah. So... See you on Monday?"

"Yeah, until Monday." my blue haired friend said rather sweetly as she gave me a goodbye hug. My cheeks flushed bright red. "Text me though!"

"Of course," I responded as she headed towards the door. "Bye Vivi!"

"Later!" Vivi waved again as she exited the cafe, leaving me there to blush. I didn't know why, but something about that hug made me blush like a complete fool. I shrugged it off and shuffled outside in the cold, oblivious to what I was going to face in these next eventful weeks.

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><p><strong>(AN: Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! If there's anything I'm thankful for, it's that we have reached 21 reviews! I woke up this morning and pretty much started screaming cause I was so excited XD Yeah, I know I'm weird. Also, I currently have this chapter, chapter 12, and part of chapter 13 done. If I can finish 13 today and get 14 accomplished tomorrow, then I'll post chapter 12 tomorrow. I'm so sorry for the wait :/ Anyway, review and let me know what you think and happy holidays!)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12- Lookin' Like A Ghost**

**Disclaimer: As always, characters belong to MysteryBen27 and company. I own my ideas, my laptop, and a ton of homework all due tomorrow. Shit.**

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><p>After that Saturday at Morton's Cafe, days flew by faster than ever before. Arthur wasn't able to hang out much because his parents always dragged him to his siblings' sports events because apparently that was required of him. Nevertheless, we all still hung out at school whenever we had gotten the chance. Since then, we didn't go back to Morton's together, but I did go to Vivi's house every now and then to watch a horror movie or two. So far we had seen Paranormal Activity Four, The Conjuring, Fear, and The Chernobyl Diaries. Most of them were okay since I was only startled by jump scares, but The Chernobyl Diaries was flat out creepy. I was on edge for the next hour after watching it.<p>

Anyway, Vivi and I were still hanging out quite often, and Arthur always caught up with us at school. He would usually update about his attic adventures with Mystery. The more he told us, the more Vivi and I actually wanted to go check out his house. I was starting to become very curious about the whole ordeal. What if there were previous owners before Arthur? Did his house have a dark history to it? Who knows? We had yet to find out. But now, it was Halloween, believe it or not. And little did I know, it would be one of the most eventful and tiring days of my life.

I woke up groggily to the sound of my phone vibrating furiously on my nightstand. I squinted at the clock. It was only five thirty in the morning. Who could possibly be texting me at five thirty in the morning!? I grumpily unlocked my phone and looked at the messages. Six messages from Vivi. That read, "Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange, come with us and you will see, this our town of Halloween!"

I angrily began typing a response as my blue haired friend continued to spam me with lyrics from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I finally sent a message reading, "Seriously Vivi, stop it! I'm trying to sleep!"

"But it's Halloween!" she replied a millisecond later.

"I don't care," I typed. "It's too early for this and I need to get back to sleep. I'll be in a better Halloween mood after I get some more rest."

"Fine then, go back 2 sleep. At least u can." I shut off my phone and sighed tiredly, relieved by the silence filling my dark bedroom. I then fell back asleep the second my head hit the pillow, without a second thought.

• • •

Since it was Halloween, a lot of people came to school dressed up. Some people had silly costumes, others had amazing costumes, and some people had costumes it looked like they threw together in five seconds. Some people were dressed up as football players, others as ghosts and ghouls. I was not one of those people. I wore my casual clothing, blue jeans, a plaid purple vest and a matching fucshia tie. I also sported the usual plum pompadour, despite trying to comb it several times that morning.

Now don't get me wrong. I enjoyed Halloween, but I had no one to trick or treat with for the last five years, so I wasn't as festive as I used to be. Usually my parents would sit around at home and have a horror movie marathon while answering the doorbell. I would camp out in my bedroom and read a plethora of urban legends and horror stories while munching on KitKats and other chocolates. The we would go out to eat somewhere afterwards. This time we would be eating at home, but then we'd get to go to a haunted house, which will prove to be interesting, especially with Vivi coming along. Speaking of Vivi, I was heading to my free period, so I was bound to run into her soon-

My blue haired friend came up from behind and yelled, "BOO!"

I whipped around to find my blue haired friend in full costume. She was wearing a formal, but worn out black dress, a pearl necklace, and pumps. Her face and neck was covered in pasty white makeup with huge black circles around her lively blue eyes. Vivi also wore dark lipstick to emphasize the dead look. "Guess what I am!" she chanted excitedly.

"Uhm, a dead person?" I intoned as we strolled down the hallway.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Vivi giggled. "I'm a ghost!"

"Nice, not a lot of people are putting effort into their costumes and yours looks pretty good."

"Says the boy not dressed up at all! We have to do something about that!" she announced, her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"How?" I asked warily as we sat at the round table in our usual corner. "You're not going to cover me in makeup, are you?"

Silently, my blue haired friend pulled out a giant plastic container out of her backpack and opened the lid to reveal a small stash of face paint and makeup. She was definitely going to cover me in makeup. Giving me a smug expression, Vivi explained, "This is what I stored from all the girly things and makeup my brother gives me every year. You know, he's trying to convert me into a girly girl. But I only use this stuff for Halloween costumes and decoration. Anyway, what'cha want to be? A vampire? A demon?"

"Do I have to do this?"

"Yes! You have to get into the Halloween spirit! Get it? Spirit?" Vivi chuckled at her own pun. "But seriously, you have to be something! Halloween is so boring when you don't try to dress up as anything! You just have to!"

I let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay, fine. Make me a ghost, I honestly don't care what I am. Whatever makes you happy. As long as you don't make me look like a hooker."

"Trust me, I'll make you look BOOtiful!" My blue haired friend cheered as she selected certain brushes and face paints. "Now stop smiling, Lew. You have to stay still in order for me to do my work! And close your eyes!"

I obeyed quietly and tried to sit as still as possible while Vivi rubbed my face with who knows what. I could feel her small fingers smudging face paint on my now flushed cheeks. "What are you blushing about, you big softie? I'm just putting on face paint, I don't have cooties! Don't worry!"

She covered probably my whole face in face paint before finally stopping. I opened my eyes and asked her, "Can I see?"

"We're not even finished yet! Close your eyes!" she demanded as pulled out a brush and more makeup. "Here, I'll tell you what I'm doing so you stop being so nervous. I'm about to add some black eye shadow because I only put on white face paint so far and it looks really plain." I felt the brush lightly dusting under my eyes and I knew she was telling the truth.

"Now I'm adding some detail, like some tiny cracks and a hollow nose and stuff." Vivi told me as she applied cold face paint to my nose. "Wow, you've got such long eyelashes. Like a girl's," she commented in awe. I was doing perfectly fine and I was starting to trust her with the makeup when she started slathering face paint on my neck without warning, making me jump.

"Ugh, Lewis!" she scolded. "You almost made me mess up! I'm almost done, so just be patient!"

I sat still and tried not to start blushing again. The crook of my neck was always a sensitive spot for me and I never knew exactly why. I was extremely ticklish there. My cousins knew about this and would go to great lengths to tickle my neck, which was difficult now thanks to my height. They were determined though. My younger cousins would try to climb up my legs or tackle me to the ground while the adults watched, laughing at my foolish weakness. My relatives were pretty troublesome and wild, but getting together for the holidays always proved to be fun and lively. It was even more entertaining back when my grandmother was still alive.

"I'm done!" I opened my eyes as Vivi granted my freedom. "Here, take a look," she said, beaming, as she held out a tiny mirror. I gasped as I peered into the small object. I looked amazing. My face and neck were colored pure white with very light blots of purple here and there. I had bold dark circles under my eyes that blended into the face paint and outlined my bright violet eyes. The best part though was what Vivi did with the black face paint. She had drawn perfect lines where my jawline and upper jaw would be located. My nose was coated in black face paint. She also made tiny, fine point cracks on the edges of my face, and it looked really cool. Not professional, but still wicked awesome.

"Vivi, you did a marvelous job!" I exclaimed, examining my face in the little mirror. "Am I like some kind of ghost or skeleton?"

"Thank you! And yeah, I tried to go for something a little different than what I have. To make it unique. I thought the shade smudges of purple would fit well, since your hair is purple. I wanted to go really light with the black circles, but then after you freaked out from being tickled and opened your eyes, and this sounds silly, but I thought adding more black would make your eyes seem more ghastly. Just the purple, you know? Oops, now I'm rambling!" my blue haired friend giggled nervously.

"It looks fantastic. Makes me feel somewhat spooky, like an actual ghost!" I jested. "I honestly thought you were going to slather a ton of lipstick and eye shadow on me. I guess I was wrong!"

"Actually, I did put some lip stick on you. That's how I made the cracks in your fake skull. The face paint just wouldn't do for that part. I'm really glad you like it!" Vivi's eyes lit up with fascination. "Hey, maybe if Arthur isn't dressed up I can do his makeup too!"

"Eh, maybe. He might not like it." I truthfully told her as the half bell rang, signifying the end of the first half of free period.

"You never know," Vivi sighed happily as she put away her makeup box. "Anyway, what exactly are the plans for later on today?"

"Just come over once school ends. Maybe you can take the bus along with me. We'll have time to watch about... Three or four movies before going up to the haunted house. My parents are also going to make lasagna tonight." I explained in detail.

"Sounds like fun!" the temporary ghost girl cheered. "Do your parents have these movies selected on DVD or what?"

"What," I informed her. "We're probably going to pick random movies to rent on demand or something like that. My parents only buy or rent movies off of there on special occasions, so that's most likely what we're going to do."

"Awesome! I'll be looking forward to it!" Vivi smiled warmly. "We should totally make up freaky ghost stories throughout the rest of free period!"

"Sure," I grinned back. "You go first!"

• • •

I walked to my study hall classroom peacefully, getting stares and glances from people in the hallway. My face was catching the attention of everyone today. Classmates stopped to comment on Vivi's work, asking me where I had gotten it done. Teachers complimented me on it too, thinking I did it myself. I was surprised they didn't tell me to wipe it off, since the makeup covered my whole face and neck, but it was probably because they were still able to recognize me thanks to my height. I wondered how Arthur would react to my face, since I hadn't seen him all day so far.

I shuffled to the back corner, where Arthur was quietly waiting for me. He seemed normal at first, clad in his usual dorky garb. His black eye was almost completely diminished. His yellow and orange hair was sticking up all over the place as usual. He looked completely casual. That's when I noticed it. Arthur was wearing one pitch black eye contact and one completely white one. It looked unnatural and weird.

"I like your eye contacts," I told him, flashing a small, nonchalant smile. "They're really cool!"

"Thanks, same goes for your ghost face. It makes your eyes look spooky, even more so with those eye contacts. Who did your face paint? Did you do it?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Nah, this was all Vivi's work. She did it during my free period and she did her own face too. But this is my natural eye color." I corrected him, pointing to my eyes.

"Yeah right dude, people don't just have purple eyes," The orange haired boy retorted.

"It's true! I used to have blue eyes when I was younger, but it faded into this weird violet color. I just inherited it, like my height or my hair." I explained.

"If you say so," he said skeptically. "You'll have to show me on Monday. Anyway, I faked sick and got to stay home from my brother's basketball game last night, so Mystery and I got to do another investigation in the attic. It turned out really well!"

"How so?"

"I got my first EVP! It wasn't that great quality wise, but you can steal hear someone, or something, say 'found you.' Oh, I got the craziest goose bumps when I played it back! I also caught it saying some stuff in this weird mumbo-jumbo language, but I couldn't understand one word of it. Then I got the usual EMF detector spikes, but that's normal now. But at one point, Mystery began to bark like crazy at a vase. Or at least I think he was barking at a vase. He was growling ferociously at it as if it had threatened him or something! I would've gone further, but it was too creepy for me, man." Arthur shook his head. "It was awesome though."

"Sounds interesting. It's been said that animals can sense spirits like that. I have a few thoughts and questions though. First of all, do you have any idea about your house's history? You know, who lived there before, how old the house is, whether serial killings happened there or not," I joked. "But seriously, you need to get some background information on the house. And bring your voice recorder or whatever you use on Monday. I want to listen to it because I might be able to tell what language it is. You know, being bilingual and all."

"I get it, I get it." The spikey haired boy said rather forcefully. "I tried asking my dad about the house when we first moved in, but he wouldn't tell me anything. My older brother, Cole, says he thought an elderly couple lived at the house beforehand, but I don't believe him. He even claimed he found a picture of them under his bed, but when he went to look for it he said it wasn't there. So he was definitely lying."

"Well..." I trailed off, trying to form words in my brain. "You should ask again. Try to figure out what went down in that house. Or better yet, next time you have the chance, try to confront the ghost and ask it some questions. Maybe it'll answer."

"Okay sure," Arthur smiled toothily. "It won't be too easy though. My parents probably forgot about the house's history by now. I'd probably have to go back into that spooky attic to look around for records."

"True," I exhaled. "Anyway, what are your plans for today?"

"Where do I begin? My older brother has a varsity football game today, of all days, and my dad is going to go see it. My younger brother, Travis doesn't have any games, so my mother's taking him trick or treating. I either have the option to throw on an old costume and go with them or go to that football game. I wish I could just stay home, even with whatever's haunting my house." The yellow haired boy sighed wistfully.

I reassuringly patted his back and told him, "Ah, you know, Vivi and I are watching horror movies at my house if you want to join us...?"

"Nah, I really don't have a choice. Besides, I don't do so well watching horror movies. I watched The Omen once and got a free panic attack along with it. If you haven't noticed already, I get scared very easily," Arthur chuckled half-heartedly. "I have Mystery to protect me though."

"That's nice. He was a stray, you told me?"

"Yep. Found him as a puppy in a cardboard box by the side of the road. My parents were skeptical about him at first, but we quickly got things sorted out and now he's family. And my best friend." he beamed.

I explained, "Cool, I've never had any pets before, so I can't really relate with you that much. Mystery seems like a great dog though. He's pretty smart."

"Having a pet is super fun," Arthur described. "Besides some goldfish here and there, Mystery was my first real pet. He and I became close friends almost immediately, but it look a few weeks to learn the boundaries and things about owning a dog. You know, no pulling any tails, that kind of thing. I was still a kid, so I had to go over that stuff. I barely did anything like that, but my mom told me once that when we first took him home, I kept claiming he could talk. It was obviously my imagination, but you can literally tell what he's thinking from the expressions on his face. It's awfully weird."

"Young kids have incredibly vivid imaginations, so that's probably what was going on in your situation." I explained, pulling out my History homework. "I have to finish this today, so I need to get working. If you don't mind."

"Yeah dude, that's fine by me, I'll just draw." The orange haired boy replied, twiddling his pencil with his fingers.

I nodded and began to work silently. In AP History, we were currently learning about the journey of The Mayflower. Again. I knew it was important, but I was getting really sick of learning the same content over and over again. There hasn't been one year in all of my History classes that we haven't gone over Christopher Columbus's journey to the Americas at least once. Even in an AP History class, where I was expecting to go over more advanced topics, like ancient civilizations. It seemed as if all the American school system wanted to do was shove the history of Christopher Columbus down teenagers' throats.

Anyway, I only had five minutes of study hall left, since I spent a good amount of class time chatting with Arthur. I was pretty confident in myself though, since I obviously knew all about The Mayflower from my years of experience. It was a four page packet too, but I was zooming right through it. Arthur sat in his desk right in front of me, wordlessly drawing, only stopping every now and then to glance back at me, checking to see if I had finished. Finally, I set down my pencil and asked him, "What are you drawing?"

"Stuff," Arthur replied bluntly. "I'll show you if you like, just don't say anything about it."

"Sure...?" I responded uncertainly. He whipped around in his chair and placed his sketchbook on my desk. All over the page were little doodles of these cartoon-like drawings of people. And they were all really well drawn. Some looked bubbly and cheerful while others looked gloomy and depressed, in a Tim Burton sort of way. "These look amazing," I whispered in awe.

"Heh, thanks!" he said shyly, running a hand through his hair. "They're kinda weird, since I've been experimenting with art styles."

"Nah, they look marvelous!" I comforted him, "I can't draw well at all, so you're pretty lucky. I can paint, but that's pretty much it. Are those just random characters or do you try to make doodles of real people too?"

"Eh..." the yellow haired boy trailed off. "I really don't like to admit it, but some of my doodles are based off of actual people at school. It's only for practice though! I've been working with several different art styles and I seriously don't know which one I favor the most."

"That's okay. But who's that one in the corner?" I asked, pointing to one doodle that caught my eye. She sported a lightly shaded bob haircut, big anime-like eyes, and wore a huge grin. "Is that supposed to be Vivi?"

"Y-yeah," Arthur stammered sheepishly, a small blush forming on his face. "Well, this is embarrassing. I may or may not have drawn a character based off of you somewhere on this page, too... Sorry, dude."

"Really?" I scanned the page until I found a somber looking doodle of a boy with wide shoulders and an untidy pompadour hairdo. That was definitely me. "I look very pained," I told him.

"I guess so," Arthur agreed as the bell rang. "It just felt right drawing you in that style. It just fits, man. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Arthur. Now I have to get to lunch," I announced, standing up. "You sure you don't want to join us for Halloween?"

"Uh huh, I'll be okay. Have fun though!" the orange haired boy hollered as he rushed out of the classroom, leaving me without words. Sighing, I snatched my books and headed off to lunch, ready to finish the school day.

• • •

"So how did everyone like your makeup?" Vivi asked eagerly while Mrs. Tiemann was lecturing as usual.

"I got quite a few compliments on it today," I smiled back at her. "Even teachers were making remarks about it. Lots of people said it looked very well done, including Arthur. He said it looked amazing, but he didn't want to be made up himself."

"Oh well," the blue fanatic shrugged. "You look so spooky! I'm proud of myself! The best part is that it compliments your eyes. Makes them look even more purple than they already are. To be honest, it's really pretty."

My face instantly turned bright red as I stammered, "T-thank you. I got that a lot today. The eyes part, not the pretty part-"

"Lewis! Vivian! I'm up here!" Our teacher growled, her face wrinkling in anger. "Pay attention!"

"Sorry," I mumbled sheepishly, blushing like a madman. I quietly took out my notes and began writing down whatever the teacher was saying. I glanced over at Vivi, who had a small smile playing on her lips. She quickly tore a piece of paper off her notebook and scribbled something down on it. Then she placed it on my desk.

It read, in bubbly handwriting, "Sorry about getting you in trouble with that wrinkly old bat. I know you don't like being the center of attention. But ugh, I can't wait for school to end! We're gonna have so much fun! I've never been inside your house before, so it's bound to be interesting!"

I glanced around the classroom to make sure my teacher wasn't watching and wrote back, "You haven't been inside before? Huh... And yeah, I'm pretty excited too, I guess." I handed the piece of paper to Vivi and slouched in my seat uncomfortably.

My blue haired friend eagerly passed the paper back to me after what seemed like a millisecond. Slightly surprised, I took the sheet and read, "Nope, not even once. Ooh I'm so looking forward to this!"

Grinning to myself, I wrote, "Same here. And I forgot to ask this morning, what was up with texting me so early?"

I expected Vivi to have a fast explanation, but three minutes later and she was still writing who knows what. It worried me a little usually because when that girl had a lot to say, it would be about something deep. Like her passion for ghosts or disliking her brother. In these three weeks, I was so used to seeing Vivi all chipper and happy that it scared me when she was ever sad about something. It's scary watching the stronger people crumble before you. Although she wasn't crumbling, she was just expressing her emotions like a normal human being.

Vivi reached out and set the sheet of paper right in front of me, dragging me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry about that, I was just trying to get into the Halloween spirit. I wasn't thinking. I was lonely, I guess. It's difficult not to give into the temptation of waking someone else up at odd hours in the morning just to talk to them. I should probably mention by now that I may or may not have had sleeping problems since I was a child, so yeah. Now would probably be a good time to get that out there. Again, I apologize for not thinking about you before waking you up so early. And please, don't pity me."

I handed the paper back to her with no response, just a solemn look on my face. Vivi watched back, her blue eyes filled with seriousness. She sighed, pulling up her scarf. "We'll talk about this later," she spoke in a barely audible whisper.

"Okay." I whispered back, shifting in my desk yet again. I yawned rather loudly. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until just now. And I still had a very long and stretched out day ahead of me.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: I apologize for such a long wait! I'm a huge procrastinator, unfortunately, so I'm still working on Chapter 14. Yep, sad. BUT I will work my ass off tonight and try my best to get ahead :] Holiday break is over, so school is back to suck all of the inspiration out of me, but I'm pretty sure I can overcome that obstacle. Anyway, I'll hopefully have Chapter 13 up tomorrow and we'll be back on the daily schedule! Until then, thanks for reading and drop a review below! Bye! *waves*)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- There Will Be Blood**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my ideas, my laptop, and my procrastination problems. Sorry guys. All characters belong to MysteryBen27 and company.**

**Double Disclaimer: I'm completely going to spoil The Shining and The Hills Have Eyes in this chapter. I don't own either of these movies. Unless you really wanted to see these two horror films, I'd suggest scrolling past the parts where the movies are taking place.**

* * *

><p>"Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!" the doorbell hollered from the living room. I quickly approached the door and pulled it open with one forceful yank. Standing outside were three children, all of whom were dressed as superheroes. One as Batman, one as Superman, and the other as Wonder Woman. "Trick or treat!" they cheered in unison. Slightly surprised, I reached into the candy bowl and gave each kid three chocolates. I expected Vivi to be behind the door. I quietly watched the giddy children leave before shutting the door.<p>

"Who was it?" My mom asked calmly as she sat down on our blindingly white, pristine couch. "Just neighborhood kids?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Should we pick out horror movies now or wait until Vivi gets here?"

She took a second to brush a strand of bright purple hair out of her face before replying, "I was thinking maybe your father and I could pick out two movies and then you and Vivian can pick out two movies. How does that sound?"

"Fair, I guess. As long as Dad doesn't pick out all of the gory movies." I joked, smiling just a little.

"Alrighty then, you hand out candy to any children at the door and wait for Vivi while I go make some snacks." my mom instructed, standing up and heading into the kitchen.

I sighed and leaned back into the couch. Hopefully my parents wouldn't humiliate me in front of her when she gets here. I haven't had a friend over in years, so I didn't know how they were going to react to this. My parents mostly liked to embarrass me in front of my grandparents. If they were going to try to pull a fast one on me, it would be some other time, since I only just got accustomed to having Vivi as a friend. I only knew this girl for about three weeks and I was already able to call her my friend. And what about Arthur? Would he be considered a friend too? Maybe so. I acquired two real friends in sixteen years. Damn, I was making some real progress!

I chuckled to myself as I stood up to answer the door again. I pulled the door open to find no one there, to my surprise. "Huh," I spoke to myself. "It must've been ding-dong-ditchers."

I was about to shut the door when a mass of blue jumped up out of nowhere, screaming, "Your soul is mine!" at the top of her lungs. I jumped, accidentally knocking over the whole candy bowl and falling on my butt on the floor in one clumsy move.

I cursed in Italian out of habit, then quickly hoped my parents hadn't heard it from the kitchen. I stood up, my rear end feeling pretty sore, and let Vivi in, asking angrily, "What was that for!?"

Howling with laughter, she apologized, "I'm sorry Lewis! I had to! Oh my gosh that was so funny! And what did you say?"

"Something you wouldn't say in front of your parents. But seriously, why did you have to scare me like that!?" I exclaimed frustratedly.

"Calm down, Lew! It was just a little prank," the blue haired girl consoled, patting my shoulder. I noticed that she had washed off her makeup and was out of costume. I had long since rinsed off all of my face paint, but it was surprising that Vivi did the same. "You're gonna have to get used to it if we're going to that haunted house tonight!" she giggled happily.

"Right. Anyway, my mom said we can pick out the movies on demand for the marathon. Which ones shall we select?" I asked, scratching my head.

"Well, let's see what's on there!"

I sat on the left side of the couch with Vivi right next to me. But not too close though. I snatched the television remote and used the menu buttons to get to the horror selections on demand. A lot of the ones that we watched recently were on there, like The Conjuring and Fear. Right under those two were all of the Friday the Thirteenth movies. "See anything you like?"

"Ooh!" the blue haired girl shouted eagerly. "How about The Shining? You said the book was really good, right?"

"Relax," I hushed her. I couldn't help but smile at her energy. "The Shining sounds good. We should probably let my parents pick a movie or two, too."

"Wait, your parents are joining us..?" Vivi questioned nervously, her tone instantly changing.

"Yes, of course. What's the matter with that?"

"Well let's see," she shifted uncomfortably on the couch before confessing, "I barely know your parents and I'm kinda scared of them. I mean, new friend's parents right? I don't know why, but I feel like I have to prove something to them. Or impress them. And I haven't even spoken to them yet!"

"It'll be fine, my parents are good people. You don't have anything to worry abou-" I began before my mom came in, instantly shutting me up.

"Here, I brought some food in, in case you're hungry. Don't be afraid to let me know if you need anything else, Vivian. Anyway, I actually have to start preparing dinner soon, so I'll have to miss one or two of the movies. Which ones are you two picking?" my mom rambled, setting a small bowl of strawberries between us.

"Strawberries?" I raised an eyebrow.

"We already picked The Shining, but we'll still need two or three more movies. Would you like to pick any, Mrs. Hinsey?" Vivi asked charm fully, startling me just a bit with her mannerisms. She really did want to impress my mom and dad.

"I don't think so, thank you. But I think Lewis's father might want to select one. I'll be around to watch the second movie, so choose wisely. Well, I have to start making the lasagna, so I'll be off. Wait, you're okay with lasagna, right Vivi? You're not a finicky eater or anything?"

"Not at all," the blue haired girl smiled warmly. "I'll eat anything! I absolutely love food!"

"Alrighty then," my mother said as she strolled back into the kitchen, leaving the two of us all alone to watch The Shining.

"Have you ever seen it? Or read it?" Vivi asked curiously, still extremely chipper.

I responded and pressed the play button for the film to begin, not before checking to see that it was the original one and not the shitty remake. "I haven't seen the original movie yet but I have read the book quite a few times, yes. How about you?"

"I read the book once, but that was like three years ago," she replied bluntly. "As for the movie, I saw it once about a year ago. Except it was that bad remake, not the original one."

"Hold up," I spoke as the endless movie trailers started to play. "You read the book three years ago? That means you read The Shining when you were in sixth grade?"

"So?" the blue haired girl shrugged, snatching a strawberry to snack on from the bowl.

"You read that book, sex scenes and gore and countless curse words when you were eleven?" I asked, somewhat amazed.

"Yeah. I really didn't care." Vivi laughed at my awed facial expression. "I didn't understand it fully, but I enjoyed the book, nevertheless."

"Wow," I breathed. "I would've been mentally scarred if I had read that book at a younger age. You've got guts..."

"You got that right," she grinned, a smug look spreading across her face. She reached over and popped another strawberry in her mouth before continuing, "I was a brave soul. I still am! I don't think anything really phased me as a kid. Just my imagination."

"Your imagination?" I inquired, grabbing a few sweet strawberries for myself.

"Yeah, I guess..." my friend trailed off.

"That would make you a great ghost hunter," I explained, beaming. "If you, Arthur, and I ever started our own investigation team, I'm one hundred percent sure that you'd be the bravest person in the group. I don't get that scared, but I'm pretty sure you've noticed I don't react well to things jumping out at me. And then Arthur... Someone would have to teach him to block his emotions from ghosts. If he's even joining us, that is."

"True... I think you would do an ideal job of teaching him, don't you think? Before we were friends, I would always see you around being reclusive and stoic as ever. I'm not saying he has to become emotionless, but it could get dangerous if Arthur ever exposed himself to a ghost like that. Thank god he has Mystery by his side." Vivi intoned seriously.

"Me? No!" I waved my hands around anxiously to emphasize my point. "I can't do that!"

"Who says?" the blue haired girl questioned. "You've never even tried!"

"I don't know, Vivi," I sighed, snatching another strawberry. "Anyway, the movie's about to start so we might as well pay attention to it."

"Good idea," Vivi giggled, turning to face the television. "Hopefully it's better than the remake!"

* * *

><p>A terrified woman, also known as Wendy Torrance, ran down the hallway of The Overlook, practically screaming bloody murder as a deranged man with a fire axe followed close behind. Wendy hid behind a door and locked it, all in one swift move. She made petty attempts to lock the door as her own husband, Jack Torrance, began whacking ferociously with his ax. Wendy sat there, shrieking as her possessed husband hacked away at the door. He had cut enough to where he could look inside and spot his wife. He let out an unstable cackle before shouting furiously, "HERE'S JOHNNY!"<p>

"Run away, Wendy!" Vivi exclaimed. She was practically sucked into the movie. "Don't just sit there! Do something!"

Finally, as if she was listening to Vivi's word of advice, Wendy pulled out a knife and slashed her possessed husband's hand and made her escape.

"Now she's gotta find Danny," I thought out loud, grabbing a strawberry from the bowl, now sitting on Vivi's lap. She had been hogging it from me for pretty much the entire movie.

"She's probably going to die. Danny and that Halloran guy are out in the hedge maze, remember?" she corrected, adjusting her pink-tinted glasses.

As expected, Wendy began frantically roaming the enormous hotel, searching for her missing son. "Doc, where are you? Danny, come out!" she cried hysterically. "We have to get out of here!"

We were interrupted by my mother, who walked into the living room wearing her winter coat and held her keys in hand. "Lewis, I forgot some ingredients for the side dish, so I have to go to the grocery store really quickly. I'll be back in fifteen minutes and your father will be home shortly, too. I need you two to behave while I'm gone, okay? I'm sorry I have to go, but I have to."

"Okay Mom, we'll be fine." I reassured her. "It's only fifteen minutes. We'll behave."

"You better," she chuckled. "Now I'll be going. Don't answer the door for anyone but trick or treaters and don't mess with the oven!"

"We know!" I called back to her. She then went outside the front door, leaving us to our horror movie. Halloran was running down the hallway as fast as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. Jack was able to keep up with his dwindling stamina. The possessed caretaker took his fire ax and swung it into Halloran's head.

"Ooh, right in the noggin!" Vivi hollered as poor Halloran was bludgeoned by Jack's ax. I cringed as blood spattered on the floor.

"Poor dude had it coming," I exhaled. "You're not a gore fan, are you?"

"Hell yeah I am!" the blue haired girl proclaimed. "I'm not startled by blood one bit! I've seen quite a few gory movies, too."

I tuned back in on the movie, were Wendy and Danny escape on the snowmobile Halloran brought to the hotel in the first place. They had abandoned their frozen, possessed Jack back in the hedge maze, leaving him there to die off. Then, the screen slowly faded to black as he let out one last demonic cackle, followed by the credits.

"Well, that was a great movie, even though it was a bit different from the book." Vivi stated, sighing contently. She stood up, announcing, "I'm gonna go use the bathr-" she quickly sat back down, not bothering to complete her sentence.

"What is it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The blue haired girl just sat there, a nervous expression on her face. "What is it, Vivi?"

Her anxious blue eyes were locked on me. "I'm fine, just put on another movie," she said shakily. Her legs were crossed and her foot was tapping the floor repeatedly.

"Not until you tell me what that was all about," I demanded, crossing my arms. What was she so freaked out about?

"I-It's nothing!" Vivi stammered, putting on a faux demeanor. "Just p-p-put on the movie!"

"You can tell me, there's nothing to worry about." I consoled. "You're worrying me, just say what's wrong."

"It happened," she whispered.

"What happened?" I questioned, trying to hide my frustration. I studied my friend, who was sitting uncomfortably, with her hands on her lap. Covering her lap. My stomach sank. "Stand up," I ordered, now feeling equally nervous as to what she was hiding.

Finally giving up, the blue haired girl stood up, gripping her skirt. She looked slightly mortified, and that's when I realized it. Taking in the conflict before me, my face began to redden almost as much as the dark, bloody spots on my used-to-be-clean, white couch. I looked at Vivi. Then back at the couch. And back at Vivi. The front of her skirt looked clean from what I could tell, but I had a creeping suspicion that it wouldn't be the same story for the back side. "I'm sorry," she mumbled sheepishly, her voice quavering.

I was speechless, but I had to do something. I had to... My stomach plummeted even deeper. "Oh no..." my friend breathed in a hushed whisper. "Your parents. They'll see it! Oh my god, this is humiliating!" she cried.

"Come with me," I muttered, blushing profusely. I lead her to the bathroom and crouched down in front of the cabinets under the sink. I frantically dug through the mess of hair and cleaning products. It had to be somewhere. Finally, I found a box of pads and tossed them to Vivi as if it had burnt my hands. "Take these. There's gotta be instructions somewhere on the box," I said quietly, my face burning with secondhand embarrassment.

Vivi nodded awkwardly, shooing me out and quietly closing the door behind me. I dashed to my bedroom and opened the dresser. She obviously needed a new pair of pants or something to wear besides that bloodstained skirt. I barely knew anything about 'that time of the month,' but I had a little background information from my older relatives. I also knew my mom kept a box of feminine products in the back of the cabinet. I fished around in my bottom drawer until I found an old pair of blue jeans. There were holes in both knees, but they were small enough for Vivi to fit into them, since I hadn't worn them in years.

I knocked on the bathroom door and called out shakily, "I have some pants for you to wear... They're worn out, but it's the only thing I have that could possibly fit." The door opened just slightly, and a hand snaked out of the crack to snatch the jeans. Then it shut again.

"Thank you," Vivi sighed exhaustedly from the other side of the door. "I'm sorry this happened... This one's gonna be hard to forget." she laughed half-heartedly.

I exhaled and replied, "It's not your fault. I'll be in the living room when you're done in there." I silently walked into the living room, examining the golf-ball sized blood stain on the couch. "God, what did I do to get myself in a situation like this?" I thought reluctantly as I sat on the chair next to the couch.

I buried my flushed face in my large hands, panicked by all of the embarrassment and awkwardness. I couldn't even imagine how Vivi must've been feeling. I felt humiliated and I wasn't even the one who bled on the couch. The couch I was going to have to clean before Mom got back home. She probably felt mortified. Maybe I should try to forget it had happened, just to make Vivi feel a little more comfortable about the whole thing.

"Are you okay?" I glanced up to see Vivi staring at me, hands on her hips. The pants I lent her were baggy on her, but they still fit.

"Yeah," I nodded. "How about you pick the next movie while I clean up this, err... Mess?"

Vivi took a seat on the couch. "That would be nice. I'm sorry you have to do this. You sure you don't want some help?"

"Nah, I'll be fine," I stood up and went to get some cleaning products from the bathroom. "You just sit there and select another movie from on demand. Pick whatever you want!"

"Kay," the blue haired girl replied bluntly. I gathered my supplies and returned to the living room. I wished myself good luck before proceeding to clean my friend's blood off the couch.

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" my mother hollered as she burst into the house with a handful of groceries. "Did you two behave?"<p>

"Yeah," I called back. "We finished the first movie, so now we're watching The Hills Have Eyes."

She set down the groceries in the kitchen and stepped into the living room. Vivi and I were sitting on the couch, now closer together since nether of us wanted to sit where the blood spots had existed, even though I already washed it away. Vivi shifted slightly next to me, probably uncomfortable with having to sit so close by me. "Ooh, The Hills Have Eyes? That's a scary one! It certainly scared me when I saw it! You sure you won't have bad dreams, Lewis?"

"I'll be fine, Mom," I groaned. Vivi was dead silent. "Is Dad going to be home soon?"

"He said he'd be here in about a half an hour. Traffic's bad today," my mother informed. "Once he gets home dinner will probably be done so we'll eat and then head up to the haunted house. Afterwards, we could all watch another horror movie, if time allows it. Vivian, did your parents say a specific time they wanted you home?"

"No they didn't," she answered. "Should I text them later on about it?"

"Probably," my mom shrugged, brushing her bangs out of her aged face. "I'll leave you two alone to your movie now." she said as she scurried back into the kitchen.

I turned back to Vivi and asked, "You sure you wanna watch The Hills Have Eyes?"

"Yeah, I picked that movie. We're either watching this or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And if I were you, I'd stick with The Hills Have Eyes," she chuckled, her blue bob bouncing as she laughed.

"Okay fine," I sighed and turned back to the screen. The movie had already begun, but thanks to my mother's interlude we missed the first five minutes or so. The gas station owner was talking to a rather large family of seven about short cuts to get to their destination. The father nodded as everyone poured back into the RV. There was a mother, a father, two teenage children, and adult sibling, her husband, and a baby. Not to mention the two German Shepherds accompanying them.

The whole family was arguing and causing mayhem. The baby was crying, the teenage son wanted a cigarette from his brother-in-law, the parents were fighting. The air conditioner was broken. It looked like total chaos. Then that's when their tires got punctured by random spike traps, just sitting there in the middle of the desert.

"This family doesn't get along to well," I said to Vivi. "If they argue so much, it isn't exactly smart to go on a vacation together."

"Very true, especially since they're in a survival horror movie." she stated. "I've never seen The Hills Have Eyes, but I have small background knowledge on what happens."

"Then you're at an advantage" I asserted. "I haven't seen this movie either, let alone heard about it."

I tuned back in on the movie. The father and his son-in-law, who don't get along at all, decided it was a great idea to wander out into the desert together to look for help. At first, they walked together, but they soon trailed off separate ways, another bad decision. Back at the RV, the son, Bobby, was relaxing and doing absolutely nothing was startled by one of his dogs escaping from the trailer and running off into the middle of nowhere. The boy bolted after the dog without a word. "Beauty! Beauty!" he cried. "Get back here!"

Bobby chased after the sound of barking, determined to catch his dog. But when the barking stopped, the teen reached the dog... Who was lying dead on the desert ground with its stomach torn open. He ran over to his pet with tears in his eyes, only to trip and knock himself unconscious.

"Smart child they got there," I chortled.

"I know right?" Vivi giggled in response. "These people don't seem to know what they're doing!"

"Yeah.. I'm surprised you picked this movie. I honestly thought you'd pick another ghost flick." I confessed.

"Eh, you gotta have some variety every once in a while. Besides, a lot of ghost themed movies these days are just plain terrible." she informed me.

"True..."

"Now look back at the screen! You can't miss this part!" Vivi demanded excitedly.

A strangely deformed girl in a red sweatshirt was now next to the fallen boy, as if she was trying to protect him. Her face was badly malformed and her posture was very thrown off. She was growling at another deformed person, who was looming over the dead dog. Instead of answering my question about what these humanoid creatures were or why they were killing animals, the scene simply cut out to the father, who was back investigating the gas station. He flipped through newspapers in the owner's office, reading the dusty headlines. They all said things like, 'nuclear disaster,' or 'dangerous radiation.' That must've been how these malformed people became malformed in the first place.

I shot a quick glance at Vivi, who silently stared into the television, and I looked back at the film. The father managed to get himself kidnapped by the humanoids and was currently being dragged into the mining caves. I involuntarily shuddered.

The scene then cut back to Bobby, who was reawakening later on that night. His mutilated dog was nowhere to be seen. Distraught, the boy headed back to the trailer, somehow without getting lost. Because they are in a horror movie, the rest of the family makes the poor decision of not asking Bobby where he had been. And of course, the teen decided not to tell his family what had happened either.

"That choice is going to come back and bite him in the ass now, isn't it?" I asked Vivi as if she knew the answer.

"Probably," the blue haired girl replied. "I like this movie so far but it appears that everyone who isn't a radioactive mutant is brainless. They're making all sorts of bad choices. The only smart human in this movie is the baby!" she jested.

I chuckled and turned back to the film. In the .005 seconds I wasn't paying attention, the father was burned alive, the oldest child was shot to death, and the baby had been kidnapped by mutants. "I take that back," she giggled.

"These people need to get it together!" I laughed along.

"I think I'm on the mutants' side now," Vivi chuckled, happy to see me actually laughing for once. "They've got this thought out!"

As the other German Shepherd, Beast, attacked one of the spying mutants, I heard commotion from the kitchen and knew my dad was home. He always made a noisy entrance whenever he came home from work. Vivi shifted uncomfortably next to me.

"Dinner's ready!" my mom hollered from the kitchen. Pausing the movie, I stood up and motioned for Vivi to come to the kitchen.

Hopefully nothing goes wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Gosh, it's getting worse! I'm almost done with Chapter 14, but I'm getting crammed with final exams and projects now. However, I'm just about done with Chapter 14 and I'm starting 15 today. Hopefully I can pull myself back together because I missed the daily posting. Ahem, anyway. In the mean time, I wrote a shitty one-shot called Parallel for MSA Ghost [duh] and you can go ahead and check it out during the brief hiatus, if there is one. But there won't be because I'm gonna work my butt off XD Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye!)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14- 50 Ways to Embarrass Yourself in a Haunted House**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to MysteryBen27 and company. I merely own my own ideas and this laptop.**

* * *

><p>"So you're Lewis's friend?" my dad inquired between bites of lasagna. "Vivi, right?"<p>

"Yep," she replied, chipper as usual. "I'm from his Math class."

"It's Algebra Honors," I corrected. We all sat at the dining table in the kitchen, my father across from me and Vivi to my left. My mother had disappeared off to the bathroom. I sheepishly took bites of my lasagna while my dad kept interrogating Vivi, who was answering between bites. She said she would feel nervous having to hold conversations with my prying parents, but from the looks of it, she was doing just fine.

"Thanks for having me over, I wouldn't have anything to do if I hadn't been invited over. It's really nice of you," she confided. "And this food is great!"

"Thank his mother for that," my dad stated, gesturing over to me. My cheeks reddened just a little from the attention. "So what do you two have in common? Similar hobbies?"

I shot and urgent glare at my father, as a warning that he was asking too much, but he completely ignored me. After setting down her fork, Vivi answered, "We both like horror stories and ghosts. And it's pretty much all we talk about!" she forced a chuckle, quickly shoving in another bite of food.

She really was nervous! I was surprised because it was hard to tell. But how was she holding up so well? I stopped eating for a second to ponder about all the times my social anxiety got me into uncomfortable situations. Like the time I fell asleep in the back of my Aunt Maria's car and was too scared to speak up about it until they drove all the way back to their house an hour away. Or the time I got locked in the bathroom at my elementary school. Or the time I really needed a bathroom break as a kid but was too afraid to ask, leading to... Well, accidents. Or all of the times I messed up my English and Italian as a child. I could name many more examples, but I'd rather not go into detail. The point was, Vivi seemed to do much better under pressure than I did.

"Have you ever been to this haunted house before? The one we're going to after dinner?" Vivi asked, adjusting her pink-tinted glasses.

"Ah yes, it's not that far away and Lewis's mother and I have been there quite a few times. It's pretty nice, lots of gore and scares. Lewis here hasn't ever gone though, because he likes being cooped up in that bedroom of his so much." My face grew as red as a fire hydrant at the mention of my antisocial habits. "It's really spooky. Will you be able to handle the horrors, miss?"

"Totally, I love horror! It'll be a breeze. The question is, will Lewis be brave enough to cope the spooks?" the blue haired girl jested along, chortling as she took another bite of lasagna.

"Probably," I said, swallowing down my food. For once I was almost finished before Vivi, the eating machine. Which was pretty surprising, but it was most likely because she was trying to uphold a conversation with my dad, as wacky as he was.

"Well, I'm done," my father sighed contently as he stood up and took his plate over to the dishwasher. "Phew, that hit the spot!" he announced as he wandered off into the living room.

"You got that right," Vivi grinned as she set down her fork, chuckling over my awed expression. "Oh my gosh, your face is priceless!"

I exclaimed, "How are you already done? You had half of your lasagna left not even a second ago!"

"The world may never know," she intoned mischievously. "By the way, your dad's kinda cool!"

I tried to cover up my laughter, but to no avail as I burst into giggles. "My dad, cool? You must be kidding!"

"Well, I think he's just fine! He seems to share my interest in gory movies, unlike you! Plus he appears to be way more eccentric than my dad. My dad's always at work or at a meeting. Trust me, yours is way cooler." my blue haired friend retorted.

"Eh, he's a bit weird," I mumbled as I continued eating. My dad wasn't just a bit weird. He was really weird. He stuck out like a sore thumb in the world of dads, besides the usual crappy dad jokes. My father wasn't that interested in sports, he would rather go to a Marvel convention or see the latest gory horror flick in a movie theater. He had a plethora of old "vintage," comic books stored in the very back of the basement and he'd always go down there to flip through them and would sit there reading for hours. And the only sport he was remotely interested in was soccer. My dad wasn't the strangest person in my extended family by far, but he certainly had a unique personality. And by unique, I mean completely wacky.

Vivi rolled her eyes and huffed. "Whatever, are we gonna go to that haunted house or what? I can't wait to get the crap scared out of me! Or at least see them try.."

"My mom's still taking her sweet, precious time in the bathroom, and she hasn't touched her food at all so it'll probably be a while," I informed her, getting up to set my now empty plate in the dishwasher. "You wanna go to my room and hang around or something until she's done?"

"Sure, as long as it's clean. Most boys' rooms look like a tornado went through it. That's how the guest bedroom looks whenever my brother visits home from the university."

"I assure you, my room is clean. Mostly clean," I added, chuckling deeply.

"Oh dear," Vivi sighed exasperatedly as we headed down the hallway.

* * *

><p>To my luck, my bedroom was actually clean that day. It usually was clean, but every now and then it would look like a pigsty when I was too busy reading to clean up. My room wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small. The walls were painted a light blue, I had blankets with intricate red and black patters on my bed, and my dresser was a pearly white. So my bedroom was very mismatched, but it was still clean and comfortable, which was all I needed. In the back corner of the room was wooden computer desk with my beloved laptop on it. Other than that and a book case, of course, I didn't have much stuff in my bedroom, so there was a good amount of space on the floor.<p>

"Wow, your bedroom is practically bare!" Vivi exclaimed as she plopped down on the floor, where a pale blue carpet laid. "Your room is cleaner than mine!"

Blushing, I explained, "Well I'm usually sitting on my laptop or reading, so I guess that makes sense. By the way, you can totally sit in my computer chair if you want. It feels weird talking to you while you're sprawled out on the floor and I'm already," I chuckled lightly.

Taking a seat on the black, leathery office chair, the cotton candy blue haired girl confided, "Man, this chair is sooooo comfy! I might have to steal it!"

"You better not, that chair is one of my most valuable possessions!" I joked. "And speaking of which, I still haven't even gotten my jacket back!" I blurted out, instantly growing quiet because I thought I might've been a bit rude.

"Oh right! Silly me! I have it at my house, so I'll just bring it to ya on Monday." she said nonchalantly, taking off her glasses for a brief second to clean them off with her sweater. She looked like a completely different person without the glasses on, and that somehow added to the intense blush growing on my face. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "We should have a competition! Whoever flinches or gets frightened the most at the haunted house loses, winner gets... Hm... Winner gets to pick the next movie!"

"But you'll probably win, you aren't that freaked out by things jumping out at you." I informed her. "Is that fair?"

"Lewis, I'm pretty sure you'll do just fine. You know everything there will be fake and the people jumping out at you will just be actors with tons of makeup on. It's nothing to be afraid of!" Vivi beamed, trying her best to reassure me.

"Fine," I sighed in defeat. "But I'm definitely going to lose."

"If only Arthur was here, you'd have a better chance of winning!" she joked, spinning around in my chair.

"Yeah... If we're ever going to try this ghost hunting thing, than we're going to have to figure out how to teach Arthur to repress his emotions. You said earlier you thought I would be able to teach him, but how? What exactly do I have to teach? You're the expert here," I confided.

The blue haired girl stopped to ponder for a moment and then answered, "Well... I guess I could help out in teaching him. I already know how to block my emotions pretty well most of the time. It's like cutting yourself off from the internet to try to study for a test, except your discarding all of your emotions to focus on ghost hunting instead. I'm not saying you have to become soulless, but showing negative feelings, like fear or hatred, can lead to danger. I learned from my brother that entities, even the ones that aren't demons, can feed off of powerful emotions to gain more energy or even possess the person harboring all of those feelings. So for Arthur, we'd have to focus on blocking out anxiety and give him some more... Willpower. Yeah, that's the word."

"But how? How exactly do you do that? Just drop all of your emotions like that, it sounds difficult." I stated, scratching my head. "I don't understand."

"You just try to repress them, like how you repress an embarrassing or unpleasant memory. However, that might be a bit difficult for Arthur, so maybe we'd just have to try to calm him down. We'd have to see how he'd manage in an investigation first, though. Does he even know about our ghost hunting plan?" Vivi asked in return.

"Sort of," I responded. "He knows that we both have a passion for ghost hunting and the horror genre, but I never said specifically that we were going to include him and his dog in on our group. It would be nice if he waited a little longer to see if we can trust him before inviting him to join us, even though he does have a good amount of equipment."

"You say that, but you agreed to join me in my dream after only knowing me for like, a day!" my blue haired friend pointed out.

"Huh..." I trailed off. "You've got an excellent point there, but I'm not sure. Can't we just wait a little longer and bond with him first?"

"Fine," she groaned dramatically, getting a few laughs out of me. She instantly perked up and continued, "I don't know if we'll ever get to start our own official paranormal investigation group, but it could totally work out and that thought makes me happier than you could ever imagine. I have the whole thing pictured in my mind! We'll have our first investigation at that house your cousin mentioned and we'll do research and ask it questions and maybe we'll even get physical evidence! And then if we ever become popular, we'll travel all over the country and check out all sorts of spooky places! Like haunted castles, and houses, and lighthouses, and yachts and ritual sites and I don't know where else, but what I do know is that it'll be amazing!"

Sighing, I replied, "That sounds pretty interesting. I don't go on a lot of vacations, and when I do, they're not that far away. I would really enjoy going on a huge road trip like that. With the ghosts included. You'll have to teach me how all of that ghost hunting gear works though. It seems like I'm the only one who doesn't have a clue!"

"Haha, don't worry it's not that difficult to understand. The mechanics aren't too complicated-" Vivi began.

"Vivi! Lewis! Everyone!" my mom hollered loudly from the kitchen. "Come out and get ready, we're leaving!"

A huge, cheesy smile flickered across Vivi's face as we both stood up and made a run for the door. I slipped on one of my purple windbreakers and Vivi eagerly put on her blue Mary-Janes and equally blue bubble coat. "Oh, I'm so excited!" she cheered as we stepped out into the teeth-chattering cold. "This is gonna be spectacular!"

"Maybe," I added as I yanked the car door open. "We won't know for sure until we get there!"

"I bet it's gonna be amazing! And I'm totally going to win that competition!" she said, a smug grin spreading across her face as she buckled in her seatbelt.

"Oh yeah, try me!" I chuckled, putting my hands on my hips. "We'll see about that!"

* * *

><p>"I'm totally going to lose!" I cried worriedly as we got into the everlasting line for entering the haunted house. Well it wasn't everlasting, but there had to be at least fifty people in front of us. To entertain the people standing in line, they had a zombie trail up and down the line, stalking quietly and then groaning and shaking a frighteningly loud tin lunchbox with the word 'TIPS' scrawled on it. How do I know this? Because the zombie snuck up behind me and clanged the tin lunchbox right next to my ear.<p>

Vivi, bundled up in her winter jacket, was still laughing maniacally from the zombie incident. "Oh my gosh! The look on your face! Absolutely priceless! You didn't even see him and he just appeared out of nowhere! And you screeched like an alpaca!"

"Hey, I actually like alpacas, you know. They're pretty fluffy. And adorable. But that doesn't matter right now! I'm gonna get the piss scared out of me once this line shortens!" I rambled, not worrying if my parents heard me swear from farther up in the line. When we bought the admission tickets, my parents got in line but Vivi had to use the bathroom, so they told me to just wait for her and that we'd go on our own, since they 'didn't want to interrupt our time.' I insisted it was okay but they just turned their heads.

"Well, that'll be fun to watch!" the blue haired girl chuckled jokingly. "Man, I should've given a tip to that zombie for scaring you so badly! He deserved it! And alpacas? What's so cute about them?"

I put my hand in a sassy manner and snapped, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Alpacas are the cutest little creatures in the world, excuse you! They're fluffy and tall and they make weird faces and they're just-"

"But they have weird buck teeth and are like small, awkward llamas! How is that cute?" she argued.

"You have your opinions and I have mine," I retorted, stressing the 'I'. "I think alpacas are soft, fuzzy bundles of joy and I can think that if I want to."

Vivi exhaled, "Okay then, I get where you're coming from but it's still weird that you're trying to defend alpacas. Anyway, before this quarrel gets too out of hand, I'm gonna go ahead and change the subject. Are you a fan of anime? Just asking."

Shivering from the strong wind, I chattered, "Not really, but I have seen a few episodes of Pokemon when I was younger. And I'm familiar with popular shows, like Naruto, Fairy Tale, and Sailor Moon."

"Oh god, Sailor Moon," my blue haired friend giggled. "My mom will never let go of that show. I asked you because my mom and I like to watch anime together often. She actually got me into it by showing me a few shows. We just chill out on the couch and have episode binges. So far we've seen Soul Eater, Inuyasha, Fairy Tale, and of course, Sailor Moon."

"Nice. You're going to force me to join you now, huh?" I jested, putting my hands on my hips.

"But of course! It's my duty to expose you to the wonders of anime! I've also watched a few other series on my own, like Another and Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni." she informed me.

"Higurashi No what?" I asked, helplessly confused. I took note of the line growing much shorter. We were going to have to go inside soon.

"Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, silly! It's a psychological horror anime, and it's so creepy! I like creepy though, so that's okay. Although the finger nail ripping scene came as a shock to me." she explained rather casually.

I nearly choked on my own spit. "Nail ripping scene!?"

"Oh look, the line's shrunken down!" she pointed out eagerly, looking back at me with a bright smile on her face. Sighing, I followed along as she dragged me to the front of the line. Well, almost the front of the line. There were about ten people in front of us, waiting and chatting about the haunted house.

Listening to the screams that emitted from the building, I nervously asked Vivi, "Am I going to have a heart attack or something in there?"

"Who knows?" she shrugged. "I've never been inside. But don't worry, I'll protect you!"

"It should be the other way around, but okay." I chuckled lightly. "You're pretty small though, I don't know how that would do against so many ghosts."

The blue haired girl smacked my arm and exclaimed, striking a battle pose, "Hey! I'm pretty strong for my size! Don't believe me? I'll challenge you to arm wrestling!"

"Vivi, we don't even have a table to arm wrestle on!" I laughed along with her, trying to get the pressure of the haunted house off my mind. "You can prove me wrong later when we get back to my house!"

"NEXT!" the attendant standing next to the entrance of the haunted house practically screamed in my ear, making me jump. "Get in, you're holding up the line!"

"Oh dear, I-" I began as Vivi shoved me inside, giggling, and we began our tour of the house of horrors. The walls were pretty plain, besides being stained with (hopefully) fake blood through the whole, stretching hallway. I tried to walk casually, making a foolish attempt at hiding my panic from Vivi. She strolled along next to me, all smiley and chipper. I didn't know what was creepier, the bloodcurdling screams further down the hall or my friend's enthusiasm.

Out of nowhere, a panel opened up from the wall and a demented looking clown popped out, waving his (hopefully fake) ax all over the place. I jolted backward, eyes wide as saucers, getting a few chuckles out of Vivi. She was completely unaffected by the murderous clown. "Dude, that one was so obvious! You didn't see the wall panel?"

I anxiously shook my head ad we continued down the hallway. "I'm so going to lose this competition.." I muttered to myself. We walked through a doorway with streamers hanging from the top into an area that looked like a hospital room. I cringed as the doctor began 'sawing' his patient in half as she screamed bloody murder. So that's where the shrieks were coming from. The scene was pretty gory, but the blood was obviously fake compared to the blood stain on the couch I had to wash earlier. The screams quickly died down and the doctor glanced up at us with a devious, well-rehearsed glare. I nervously yanked Vivi out of the hospital room and we were met with yet another lengthy hallway.

"Oh god," I whined, preparing myself for another jump scare. I uneasily scuttled down the hall, Vivi following close behind, laughing at my panicked demeanor. We were about halfway down the hall when I turned to look at my blue haired friend and out of the corner of my eye I saw him. He was at the very back of the hall, behind Vivi, crouched on all fours. A werewolf (or hopefully just an actor in a costume). He broke into a four-legged sprint towards us and I cried out in fear, "Oh god, Vivi! Run for your life!" as I grabbed her arm and dashed down the hallway.

"Huh?" she turned around to spot him catching up to us. "Whoa! Make a run for it!"

We finally exited through the next doorway and the werewolf snarled in defeat as he crawled back to his hiding spot, waiting patiently for the next victims to come along. Panting, I took in the scenario of the next hallway's decor. It looked like a cave, with wallpaper tacked on the walls, sounds of water dripping emitting from who knows where, and the dim lights and made stalactites on the ceiling. I shuddered from the calming, yet eerie atmosphere the 'cave' gave off. A slight breeze blew on my neck, making me shiver. Vivi seemed equally skeptical, taking in the interesting setting. "Wow," she breathed in awe. "They did a good job on this room.. Now we just have to wait for something to pop out at us!"

That's when I noticed a light flicker at the end of the hallway. Vivi was too distracted by the decorations to catch the mistake. But I knew. There was going to be a scare at the end of the hallway, and now I was prepared. Yet for some reason, my chest still ached with panic as we strolled down the fake cave hallway. I was busy focusing on whatever was going to scare us when I felt small, delicate fingers lace with my large, meaty ones. My whole face grew blood red with blush. Vivi was holding my hand. A girl was holding MY hand. Why? I glanced down to confirm that my blue haired friend was in fact, holding my hand.

And I felt more relaxed, for some unknown reason. Even though it was Vivi, and we obviously weren't in that kind of relationship, it was still nice to hold someone's hand after not being able to have such contact with someone for eons. Shaking my head, I glanced over at her with a confused expression, as if to ask what was going on. The small, blue haired girl gazed back up at me with a small smile playing on her lips and a twinkle in her already bright eyes that I had never noticed before. I blushed even harder, but quickly turned my attention to the spot where the light flashed. And just as I had predicted, a ghastly miner revealed himself and clanked his pickax right in front of an unsuspecting Vivi's face. She let out a sharp cry and backed up, stumbling and falling on her rear end.

"God damnit!" she cursed, her peaceful mood instantly diminishing. I helped her back up on her feet and she brushed off her skirt. "I can't believe I didn't notice that! Gosh, that was thrilling!"

"Looks like I might have a chance at winning after all," I remarked smugly.

"Shut up!" she retorted as we left the cave hallway. "You were distracting me!"

"I was distracting you? Lies! You were too busy with whatever that was to notice the miner's headlamp flickering!" I argued, raising one eyebrow.

"Bullshit, no lights were flickering!" Vivi put her hands on her hips dramatically. She then burst into giggles, unable to take herself seriously.

"Exactly," I snapped, chuckling a bit myself. "Anyway, we should pay attention before something else jumps out at us."

This next room we were in was decorated like a cemetery, and it looked pretty poor compared to the cave hallway we were just in. Foam graves stuck up from the ground and strobe lights dimly illuminated the room, flickering on and off repeatedly. It made me slightly dizzy, for who knows why. "Ooh, spooky!" my blue haired friend commented, admiring the cheap decorations. "I wonder what's lurking around here..."

"Probably a ghost. Or a chainsaw murderer," I laughed scanning the area for any give aways as to where the actors were hiding.

"Yeah, totally. This is cool though. Lots of diverse decorations and scare tactics. It's really cool and you never know what to expect each time." she guffawed, poking one of the foam gravestones curiously.

A tiny voice echoed from behind us, "Will you play with me?"

I whipped around to find a short girl dressed up as a small child, well, short meaning about Vivi's height. She had a frilly, checkered, and notably blood spattered dress on and brown pigtails and makeup freckles. She held a bloody teddy bear with a completely severed head in her hands. "Will you play with me?" the girl asked, tugging on the side of my windbreaker.

Blushing, I began to stammer, "I-I uh, I d-d-dunno-"

"Play with me!" she demanded in a chillingly demonic tone. "Play with me, play with me, play with me, play with me! Now!"

I quickly backed away and quietly asked Vivi, "Can we please go now?"

"But it's getting good!" she whined. The actress stopped her small tantrum and took a step towards us.

"What'cha talking about?" the girl asked curiously, picking at the spot where her stuffed animal's head used to be. "Can I join? Do you want to play Hide and Seek?"

"Uhm, Vivi..." I mumbled nervously, glancing at her for help. "Can. We. Go?"

"No! Don't leave me!" the girl sobbed. Her crying quickly turned into malicious screeching as I began to pull my friend towards the next doorway. "Come back here! Don't leave me alone! We have to play! Play with me!"

We quickly made our escape before the skilled actress could begin whacking us with her teddy bear. Panting, I crouched down for just a second, trying to rest and catch my breath. "They keep you on your toes here," I sighed exasperatedly.

"Right," Vivi panted. "Phew, that was fun. Man, if I don't ever become a ghost hunter my second job choice would be working here! It must be so much fun scaring people!"

"Eh, not really. Some people could get so scared that they'd attack the actors, which definitely isn't enjoyable." I said, wiping my brow and sweeping my messy purple hair out of my eyes. "Just going as a customer here is tiring!"

"You've got yourself a point," she nodded as we strolled down yet another long hallway. This hallway was decorated like the very first one, mostly plain with blood spatters all over the wall. I glanced around to see if there were any panels on the walls, but I couldn't find any. I examined my right hand, which was still warm from holding Vivi's hand with it. Speaking of which...

"What was up with holding my hand earlier?" I asked, giving my blue haired friend a skeptical look.

"What, I can't hold a guy's hand without being automatically interrogated? My hands were cold! And besides, it just felt right! I'm sorry if that was weird for you, okay? I just thought that maybe you'd feel a little more comfortable in here if you had a hand..." Vivi muttered sheepishly.

Sighing, I replied, "Okay, I appreciate the thought. But... Never mind. Let's just move on."

We worked our way through several more hallways and scares. We saw so many different rooms that we lost count of how many we had been in. Also, Vivi was still winning the competition, but she had gotten a few good scares out of it. We both got seriously caught off guard in one room with a banshee who had a great set of lungs on her. She shrieked so loud behind us that I thought my ears would bleed. Besides the banshee and a few other exceptions, Vivi was getting startled way less than I was. There was this one room with a row of jail cells and the psychotic inmates would stick their hands through the bars and try to touch you, screaming and shouting. The catch though, was that they managed to hide out of your line of sight in the cells and then appear out of nowhere, ready to attack. That frightened me so much I was surprised I didn't piss myself. It surely was entertaining for Vivi.

She was still howling with laughter as we left yet another frightful room, where I nearly had the life scared out of me by an actor in a very detailed demon costume. Rubbing my eyes, I whined, "Why are they always going after me?"

"They... They just do!" my blue haired friend exclaimed in between bouts of maniacal laughter. She put a hand on my shoulder and breathed, laughing out, "Gosh Lew, you're shaking! Oh that was beautiful! You get startled so easily! Just by things popping out at you!"

"Shut up! He was right in my face, what was I supposed to do?" I argued jokingly. We continued to bicker through another elongated hallway, not caring about what was to come. Vivi was laughing all over again from my petty arguments and completely red face.

"You blush all the damn time!" she cackled, probably losing oxygen from all of that laughing. Her face began to turn a light pink as she continued, "And your face gets so red! You blush when you're angry, when you're sad, when you're embarrassed! Hell, you're blushing right now!"

"Vivi, are you okay?"

"Just fine, why do you-" she began. A chainsaw began whirring at top volume and a person in a Jason costume jumped out of a panel in the wall, holding a real, running chainsaw. I reacted before I knew what I was doing. I shut my eyes, letting out a yelp and practically squeezed poor Vivi to death. She screamed too, but her reaction wasn't nearly as crazy as mine.

I had freaked out and hugged my blue haired friend for protection, even though it obviously wouldn't do much. The warmth radiating from her was a bit comforting, considering that I was freezing cold. The obnoxiously loud chainsaw noises came to a stop and I relaxed, letting out a shaky breath. I was almost lower than Arthur when it came to being startled by jump scares, which is somewhat frightening. Now, I felt better and I didn't feel like letting go, but I did for my sake of humiliation.

"God, that scared the shit out of me!" Vivi sighed in relief, licking her lips anxiously. "I would've laughed at your reaction but gosh... That was terrifying! I still have the chills, Lew! I didn't even see the wall panel! I was so caught off guard!"

I tried to say something, but the most I could manage was a tiny groan. We quietly headed towards the door, which had a giant 'EXIT' sign above it. It. Was. Finally. Over. The second Vivi and I stepped outside, we were met with my parents, holding a plastic bag with who knows what inside.

"So we stopped by the little shop where the photos are bought," my mom began.

"Photos? What photos?" I asked, my stomach dropping yet again. She pulled two 6x4 photos out of the bag. One was of her and my father, both with horrified expressions in the chainsaw murderer hallway. My stomach sank even deeper. The other photo was of Vivi and I. It was taken right before I reacted. My blue haired friend was screaming and I stared into the camera with hilariously frightful eyes. There were no photographs of me trying to cower behind Vivi, thank god.

"Your eyes!" my friend laughed as we slowly started making our way towards the car. "Lew, you're so un-photogenic it's funny!"

"Yeah," I exhaled deeply. "I know."

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><p><strong>(AN: We hit thirty reviews, guys! Gosh, I was so happy to see the 30th last night I had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming XD yep, I'm a total weenie. But still! Thank you all sooooo soooo much for commenting on my work and putting up with my shit hiatuses and everything! I just want each and every single one of you to know that I'm grateful for y'all. Ohhhhh. Well, I'm starting Chapter 15 today so hopefully I'll have it up by tomorrow or Tuesday... Until then, I'll see you in the next chapter!)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15- My Sweet Little Plum**

**Disclaimer: All of these lovely characters belong to MysteryBen27, not me.**

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><p>Halloween sped by faster than light after we had left the haunted house. When we got back home, Vivi was supposed to pick another horror movie since she won the competition, but my parents argued that they never got to pick yet so we let them choose the next one. Instead of picking any normal horror movie, they decided to go with "Let the Right One In," a romantic Swedish horror movie. According to the summary, it was about a constantly bullied twelve year old boy falling in love with his vampire neighbor. And it boasted that the dramatic movie won awards in Europe.<p>

It sounded interesting and all, but I was beyond tired from all the chaos from the haunted house. And I was especially exhausted since I was sitting on the comfy side of the couch, the side that wasn't bled on, with Vivi right next to me. My mom was sitting on the recliner and my dad on the loveseat. The movie had barely started and my eyelids already felt heavy. I tried to stare at the screen, I tried to pay attention, but before I knew it, my eyes fluttered shut and I drifted off to sleep. And not just a light, half-asleep sleep. I was passed out on the couch, snoring heavily and was pretty much impossible to wake up. When I finally did wake up, I was extremely drowsy, the movie had ended, and Vivi's parents were at the door.

I groggily stood up to go say my goodbyes. I sleepily gave Vivi an awkward half hug and yawned, "Happy Halloween... Until Monday."

"Until Monday, Sleepyhead!" my blue haired friend giggled, and with that, she left, leaving me to wander off to my bedroom and collapse on my bed. And that's how I spent the rest of my Halloween, practically in a coma on my bed.

Now, it was five days into November and I was biking to Morton's Cafe, where I was to meet up with Vivi and Arthur yet again. A few days ago, Arthur told us that he acquired a great amount of evidence from his ghost sessions on Halloween, and he wanted to show us what he found and wanted to see our opinions on it. So we formed a plan to meet up at Morton's in between Arthur's busy schedule, Vivi's moderately filled up schedule, and my nonexistent schedule. Vivi wanted to go to Arthur's house in person, but the orange haired boy turned the idea down, telling her now wasn't a good time.

My bike came to a halt as I stopped in front of the cafe and snatched my bike lock from my pocket. I shivered and shuddered from the freezing, November wind hitting the back of my neck. This motivated me to quickly lock my bicycle to the bike stand and get inside the warm, cozy cafe. I was instantly met with two chipper faces and one eager dog. Arthur and Vivi were already seated in our usual booth, Mystery wagging his tail in his spot right next to Arthur.

"Eyy Lew! About time you got here!" my blue haired friend exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "We've been waiting for you for eons!"

"But you only showed up ten minutes ago yourself," Arthur chuckled lightly. He had a slick and shiny laptop placed in front of him on the table. It appeared to be extremely expensive.

"Is that yours? It looks really new," I stated, taking my designated seat next to Vivi.

"That's because I take great care of this baby. Got it last year, along with my small collection of ghost gear. Dude, that rhymed!" the orange haired boy laughed. He then cleared his throat and continued, "Ahem, anyway. I always use this sweet thing for video games and downloading evidence from the recorders to here. It's super convenient."

I whistled in awe and Vivi said, "Wow, that's super cool! I barely have any cool electronics, besides my computer of course. So, are you gonna show us the evidence or what?"

"Yeah I-" the orange haired boy was instantly interrupted by Patricia, who had showed up with three mugs of hot chocolate and a notepad to write on.

"What can I get for y'all to eat?" she asked, smiling big enough to reveal the gaps in her mouth. "Have you guys decided yet?"

"I'll have a double burger, Pat." Vivi grinned confidently at her large portion choice. "And extra pickles!"

"Alrighty, hon. How about you, pompadour?" the green haired waitress asked, sweeping her bushy hair out of her face.

"I think I'm gonna go with a grilled cheese." I replied, blushing as red as Mystery's fur from the nicknames.

"M'kay. And you?" she asked Arthur, taking a quick second to manage her unruly hair with a ponytail.

"I'm not that hungry," Arthur mumbled shyly, pushing his menu away from him. "I ate before I came here."

"You sure?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he sighed, running his fingers through Mystery's odd colored fur.

Patricia took the menus from us and informed, "Okay, I'll be back with food in a bit. Later!"

After Patricia disappeared behind the cash register, Arthur relaxed and powered on his laptop. "So I did some investigating on Halloween when I had about two hours of spare time and I got a gold mine of paranormal activity! A lot of it was from my tests for seeing how ghosts manipulate objects, but I also got a good handful of voice recordings. The physical stuff mostly dealt with the entity knocking over objects I asked it to mess with, and I recorded my observations in my notebook, but not on a camera, sadly."

"Wicked!" Vivi cheered.

I shifted in my seat and then asked, "What about the voices your recorder picked up?"

"Well," the orange haired boy continued. "Some of the voices were in English and it sounded super creepy. And clear too! I'll show you that in a moment. But the rest was in a different language. You said you were bilingual, right Lewis?"

"I'm Italian, and I speak Italian, so... I guess?" I muttered, the statement coming out like a question. "I could listen to the foreign stuff and try to figure out if it's anything I can understand or not. I'm good at distinguishing different languages."

"Great! But let's go over the English stuff first." Arthur said, searching through his computer drive. "Ah! There it is!" He opened up a few files and numerous voice recordings popped up. "Alright, here's the first one."

He clicked on one tab and a raspy voice emitted from his laptop. We all listened carefully, including Mystery. Between all of the static, I caught, "Eyy... Boy, it's... Me."

"Whoa... Super!" my blue haired friend beamed eagerly. "That was a bit difficult to make out, but the voice sounded pretty clear over all of that static. Cool!"

"The voice sounds like a smoker's," I commented. "But then again, that's just what I think."

"Could be..." Arthur mumbled. "Nice observation. I'll have to write that somewhere later on. Anyway, here's the next one."

He clicked more keys and another disembodied voice showed up. "Come with us," the voice said, starting out raspy. Just when we thought it was over, the voice continued, slowly shifting into a more vibrant, feminine voice. "Join us, child."

"It just morphed..." Vivi gasped. "It was a gruff man's voice and it just flowed into that female voice. Gosh, that is creepy! And so freakin' cool!"

I couldn't help but shiver. "Wow..."

"I know, I considered going back downstairs after I listened to that one. It shows that whatever's in my attic is pretty smart and skilled as an entity." the orange haired boy cringed at the thought of the thing in his attic.

The next one was another morphing voice. It went from sounding like the raspy smoker to a more clear voice, but it wasn't that much of a difference. The next three were actually like that. We heard things like, "I found you," "Hey," and "Can you hear me?" Those voice recordings were simple, but very audible and clear. Not hard to pick up on like the content on ghost hunting television shows.

"Wow... So cool... Did you get any background information on your house, Arthur?" the blue haired girl asked curiously, adjusting her glasses.

"Not one bit of info, sorry..." Arthur looked down at the ground sheepishly and Mystery gave him a small lick on the cheek for comfort. Before we could continue on with the analysis, Patricia arrived with our food. Vivi eagerly accepted her hamburger and I took a bite out of my grilled cheese sandwich.

"Thanks," I said to the green haired waitress.

"No problem!" she smiled toothily.

"Say," Arthur asked curiously. "Why do you have missing teeth?"

Vivi and I both swiveled around to give the orange haired boy a warning glare. "Why do you ask? You think it's ugly?" Patricia snapped back at him. We both let out exhausted sighs.

"Well... I uh... I was just wondering!" he exclaimed, putting his hands up in defense. "I didn't mean to offend you!"

"Sheesh, whatever. Just don't pry into my business, got it?" the waitress huffed and Arthur nodded in agreement. "Good," she muttered, scowling as she walked back over to the cash register.

"Jeez Arthur, you just nearly set off a bomb!" Vivi scolded. "Out of all the things you could ask her... I already told Lewis and now I'm gonna tell you. Pat's really sensitive about her teeth and she gets ultra pissed if anyone brings it up like that, so yeah. Just don't."

"Sorry," he mumbled as he took a sip from his mug of hot chocolate. Mystery watched his owner enviously. "So... How do you know Italian?"

"Speaking relatives of mine taught me when I was little," I replied, swallowing down my food. "I only speak Italian at family gatherings, s I'm a little rusty."

"That's okay. I just hope you're able to understand what the ghosts are saying. And if not, I at least hope you know what language they're speaking in." the orange haired boy elaborated, too distracted to notice Mystery quickly stuck his snout in the mug and lapped at his hot chocolate for just a second.

"At least you can even understand another language," Vivi sighed wistfully. "Speaking just English is so boring!"

"It's really not that big of a deal. And it's just as regular and boring as English, trust me." I said, taking another bite out of my sandwich.

Arthur commented, "You look really Italian though, so I'm not surprised you're able to speak it."

"Excuse me..?"

"You know, you look Italian..." he mumbled sheepishly. "You're really tanned, you've got a big nose, you're stocky, you've got... Sort of dark hair too, so yeah."

I stared at Arthur with a confused expression spreading across my face, blush forming yet again. He stared back, looking at me with apologetic eyes under his bushy eyebrows. Vivi just continued to eat through the silence, making the tension even thicker. My blue haired friend reached across the table to feed Mystery a french fry. The dog happily obliged and devoured his tiny offering.

Rather than continue our awkward conversation, I decided to take the time to finish my half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. While I ate, Vivi started a conversation of her own with Arthur.

"Hey Arthur, did you know that we're starting our own paranormal investigation group?" Vivi asked eagerly, sipping her hot cocoa.

"Yeah, Lewis mentioned something about that. Must be cool, I guess." the orange haired boy answered.

"Uh huh. We're planning on going all over the country! Solving mysteries, exploring haunted locations, it's everything I ever wanted! So far it's just Lewis and I in the group, but we were thinking of inviting you to join us!" she revealed excitedly.

"Is this a legit plan?" Arthur asked, stroking his dark goatee.

"Not yet, but I've seen this played out in my dreams a thousand times," Vivi beamed. "It doesn't matter!"

I couldn't help but smile at her endless optimism. She was even more determined and energetic than a young child, which I somehow found adorable. "It's always been my goal to go into the ghost hunting field!" she cheered.

"I don't know, I'm not that into ghost hunting," the orange haired boy objected. "Besides, I'm pretty sure my parents won't approve of me traveling all over the states with strangers they don't know. And that it's not sports related."

Vivi was quick to argue, "We could start small! Do investigations around town, check out that place Lewis's cousin was talking about. And I'm sure we can quickly get rid of that stranger problem by meeting your mom and dad and have them become more familiar with us."

Arthur reached over to scratch his dog behind the ears and said, "I'm not sure. Even though I hold investigations on my own, I'm not a big fan of ghost hunting. It's really creepy and I can't do it for too long because it scares me. I get the chills from just having to go up to my attic. I get scared way too easily and I don't think chasing ghosts would help..."

"We could fix that!" my blue haired friend exclaimed, finishing her burger. "When I used to go on cases with my brother, he taught me how to repress any negative emotions to prevent the risk of possible demon possession. He helped me calm down and push all of the panic from my mind. It works so well for me that I've pretty much forgotten what fear feels like! If it could do that to me, this could work miracles for you!"

"How is that supposed to help?" Arthur asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"I just said, repressing your feelings will teach you to relax! It's simple!" she blurted out frustratedly.

Sighing, I joined the tricky debate. "Look, you're into science and mechanics, right?"

"Um, yeah?"

"Well, that could be your job in the group. You could be the technician and mechanic. You can evaluate and take care of the equipment and since you'd be busy doing that, we won't put you on the spot for ghost hunting. That means wouldn't have to go into as many scary places we're probably going to go into." I explained thoroughly.

"What kind of equipment do you have?" the orange haired boy asked, scratching his head. "Is it in good condition?"

"Oh dear..." Vivi sighed exasperatedly. "Here's the thing..."

"We don't have any equipment. Yet." I informed him, cringing at the awkward tension. "Vivi's older brother owns some older ghost gear, but he won't let us have it."

"Oof... If you've never had ghost equipment before, there's no way you're gonna know how to take care of it when you do get some gear. You know what? I'll join your group. If this ever becomes a thing. I've only known you guys for a little while, but you're both friendly and aren't jerks to me like the rest of the people on this planet. Mystery, I said people. You're still my bud," Arthur laughed half-heartedly. "Now, we might as well go over the rest of the voice recordings now, since everyone's done with their food."

"How many recordings did you catch?" my blue haired friend asked, an intriguing look in her electric blue eyes.

"Seven or eight, I think. Here, I'll play the first one." Arthur announced as he hit play.

At first it was only static emitting from the laptop, but then the raspy voice swept over the static and growled in a joking tone, "_Vieni qui, bel ragazzo..."_

Come here, pretty boy...

I shuddered, which immediately notified Arthur and Vivi that I definitely understood what the ghost was saying. "What is it?" they asked excitedly. "What did he say?"

"He's beckoning someone, probably you Arthur. And he's calling you 'pretty boy.'" I translated. "He, the voice that sounds like the smoker, said it really creepily. Like a murderous type of creepy."

"Whoa, cool! Hit the next one!" Vivi demanded.

Arthur clicked on another file and hit play. The voice was coming from the raspy smoker again, and it was loud and clear over the static. I cringed from all of the profanities coming out of the laptop. _"Vigliacco cazzo...! Mi disgusti... Basta lasciare... questo maledetto soffitta già!"_ the voice spat angrily. You fucking coward! You make me sick. Just leave this damn attic already!

"This time he's swearing and he wants you to leave. The ghost is basically trash talking about you... To put it lightly." I told Arthur.

"Really?" he replied, crossing his arms. "What'd it call me?"

I sighed, trying to find a way to sugar coat the nasty words. "He says you're a coward and it disgusts him. And that he wanted to be alone."

"Wow, it really hates you Arthur!" my blue haired friend giggled. "Probably because he wants his space."

"Yeah, maybe so." I nodded wearily. "Alright, let's hear the third one. Hopefully there'll be less swearing."

"It was swearing?" Vivi asked as Arthur started the next recording. It was still the smoker's voice, but he sounded more calm in this one.

"You're so foolish, with that dumb, useless ghost detector shit. Ah, it's hilarious!" the disembodied voice chortled contently in fluent Italian. He seemed amused by Arthur's behavior.

I informed, "He thinks you're funny to laugh at. This ghost seems to like to screw with people and it's very intriguing. It's also interesting that he's able to say more in Italian that English. English must be a second language for it or something."

"Huh. You'll really have to look into the history of your house now, man." Vivi stated. "Do you know how old the house is?"

"Nah, all I knew was that the house was sold by some old guy. I remember saying he wanted to 'rid himself of the house and it's memories' when he sold it to us. Pretty weird." Arthur's expression was completely befuddled. "Here, let me play the next ones. A few of them are really short."

We listened to the next two recordings, which were just the raspy voice trying to beckon Arthur again. It was mildly creepy, but not too bad. Then, the orange haired boy put on the second to last one. "This one is super cool. One of those freaky morphing ones. It's really long too!" he informed me as he hit play.

At first it was just static, filling the cafe with an eerie silence. But then, the voice began. It started out as the smoker, but slowly morphed into a voice so familiar it made me sick to my stomach. It sighed wistfully, "_Si prega di tornare a casa. Mi manchi e io non ti ho visto in eterno, la mia dolce prugna poco. Vi aspetto_."

I inhaled sharply at the ending and Arthur and Vivi swiveled towards me. "What is it, Lew? What did it say?"

I fibbed, my voice shaky, "It wasn't in Italian, so I couldn't understand it. Awfully creepy though. I-"

"Of course it was creepy! That dude totally took on the voice of some old lady!" Vivi pointed out, making my stomach sink even deeper.

"Hey, uh... I'm gonna go use the bathroom really quickly if that's okay with you." I announced before I turned and bolted to the restroom, not allowing my friends to object. I ran until the door was shut behind me and I was completely alone in the bathroom.

That's when it all flowed out. I shut my eyes to keep the waterfall of tears behind my eyelids and found my way to the sink. I began splashing my face with ice cold water, not bothering to switch it to anything warmer. I was terrified. How did this ghost, the one living in Arthur's house, know such information? I opened my puffy eyes for a brief second to make sure no oe was around me, then shut them again, bent over the sink. My breaths were loud and shaky, but I held a hand over my mouth so I couldn't be heard. Behind my hand, my chapped lips trembled ever so lightly.

"C'mon Lewis," I muttered to myself. "Stop being such a baby. Pull yourself together."

But I couldn't relax. The voice echoed in my head over and over again, in an almost haunting manner. "_Si prega di tornare a casa. Mi manchi e io non ti ho visto in eterno, la mia dolce prugna poco. Vi aspetto._" Please come home. I miss you and I haven't seen you in forever, my sweet little plum. I'll be waiting.

The only person who ever called me plum was my grandmother. My long deceased grandmother. She called me her little plum all the time because I had inherited the family's dark purple/black hair. Except my hair was a bit more purple, like a dark purple, and that was how I earned the nickname. Besides whenever she was yelling at me, she would always be calling me her sweet little plum affectionately, even when I went through a huge growth spurt in sixth grade. I used to be embarrassed about that nickname, but now, hearing those three words altogether in one sentence brought tears to my eyes. I thought I was finally over the whole grief thing with my grandmother, but I guess you can't ever get fully over the death of a loved one.

But I knew it wasn't actually my grandmother saying that. It was that diabolical raspy voice, trying to disguise itself as one of my beloved. But why? That was the terrifying part. It was Arthur's house. Not mine. How did this thing, whatever it was, know such personal information about me? My grandmother had to be tied to the house somehow. How could that thing just know the one personal nickname I had several years ago? I shook my head, giving up on my thoughts.

My heart still ached somehow from the memories, but my face looked fine and all evidence that I had an emotional breakdown had vanished. Sighing, I fixed my untidy pompadour with a small plastic comb and patched myself back together. I quickly collected my thoughts and headed back out into the restaurant, hoping my friends weren't going to interrogate me over my sudden disappearance. But instead, Vivi was putting her bubble coat back on and the table was spotless.

"Arthur got a text saying he has to come home and it's getting dark, so we should head back too. By the way," my blue haired friend said, handing over a plastic bag. "Here's your sweatshirt. I'm sorry I forgot to give it back to you!"

"Nah, it's okay," I mumbled back, taking note of Arthur and Mystery's confused expressions. "Uhh..." I began to blush furiously.

Arthur said nothing, but his devious brown eyes and his raised eyebrows were a dead giveaway as to what he was thinking. "Oh yeah," Vivi added. "I forgot to bring your pants, but I can always do that next time we hang out."

"What?" the orange haired boy asked, bursting into a fit of tiny giggles. I swore I saw Mystery wag his furry eyebrows.

"It's not what it looks like!" I exclaimed furiously, my face tinted a deep red. "I left my hoodie at her house last time we hung out and I had to lend her a pair of pants on Halloween because... Because I accidentally spilled my soda all over her skirt!" I fibbed quickly, getting an ashamed apology from Arthur and a few claps from Vivi. "She was just returning it..."

"I'm so sorry man, I always jump to conclusions! I'm just gonna head on out before I screw up even more," the orange haired boy chuckled nervously.

"It's fine. I'll see ya tomorrow!" I waved as Arthur and Mystery exited the cafe, leaving Vivi and I completely alone. I let out a deep sigh of relief once the door closed.

"That was impressive," Vivi remarked, giving me a sly grin. She zipped up her coat, watching me with her electric blue eyes. "Who knew you could come up with white lies at the drop of a hat like that? I certainly didn't!"

"Thanks, I didn't know I could either!" I chuckled, putting on my wind breaker. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course!" she beamed. Then, her expression suddenly fell. "But before you go, what was wrong earlier? You just freaked out and ran to the bathroom. That's not something I'm going to ignore."

"It was nothing," I muttered shyly, scratching my head.

"Don't pull that bullshit on me, if it was nothing, you wouldn't have run off like that." Vivi said sternly. "You can always tell me what's wrong, you're my friend! Remember?"

"Yeah, but..." my voice faltered and I went silent. "I really can't talk about it right now, okay? I promise I'll tell you in free period tomorrow, but I can't talk about it right now, okay?"

"Fine," my friend sighed longingly. "But I'm not going to forget your promise. I'm concerned, okay Lew? Tell me tomorrow."

"Thank you," I mumbled happily, a small smile playing on my lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, Vivi."

"Same goes for you, ya big softie!" Vivi laughed, giving me an awkward one-arm hug before opening the door and letting the freezing cold air inside. "Hugging is going to be so weird with this height difference! You need to shrink, Lew!"

"Tell me about it," I chuckled. "Now I'll see you later!"

"Bye!" she hollered, and with that, my blue haired friend was gone. I exhaled tiredly and wiped my forehead. I needed a nap. For sure.

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><p><strong>(AN: Again, excuse me for shitty google translate. I hope I was somewhere near the target, but who knows? Gosh, I wish I knew more languages XD Anyway, I'm about to get working on chapter sixteen and I hope you enjoyed this one! I managed to shove it in between four class projects and the finals approaching, so woo! Please leave a review, they always make me smile [like a complete idiot] and I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye bye!**

**PS: I am very familiar with the newly released canon character bios on Tumblr. I will try to incorporate them into the story, but not every canon reference will be mentioned. This has been a PSA.)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16- Somebody Is In Serious Need Of Anger Management Classes (By Fall Out Boy)**

**Disclaimer: You already know the drill. I own none of these lovely characters, only my ideas and a laptop to type it on.**

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><p>School had started out very normal the next day, besides the lingering feeling in my mind that something strange was about to happen. Usually I was completely wrong whenever I got that feeling, but one time I got that feeling and I came home to my dead grandmother, so it was still good to be on guard. It was probably because of last night's promise that I felt so fidgety. I promised I'd open up to Vivi and be all gushy about what happened. I thought about making up a lie or a false story, but I'm not that good at lying. Nobody should ever be that good at lying.<p>

When I got to free period, Vivi was waiting for me patiently, tapping her foot with a smug expression on her pale face. I noticed that for once, my blue haired friend was wearing a different outfit; a striped blue T-shirt, bright blue sweatpants, and blue sneakers. It was all still blue though, except for her glasses, of course.

"Nice outfit," I snickered, setting my backpack on the round table and taking a seat next to my friend.

"Shut up!" she exclaimed jokingly, lightly smacking my arm. "I believe there's something you need to explain to me? About last night?"

I groaned somewhat sarcastically, "Oh c'mon. Can I at least wait until after we scan our IDs in to talk about that?"

Vivi rolled her eyes at me. "Fine. But I better have an explanation by the end of free period!" she demanded.

We quietly grabbed out IDs and got in at the back of the everlasting line. This was how our high school took attendance during free period, and it was completely unorganized. The school was constantly having to clear cuts because 'the register stopped working.' It was completely ridiculous, but I didn't utter a peep about it. Meanwhile, Vivi was humming to herself softly and I was stressing out over having to talk about yesterday. I seriously didn't want to talk about it, but my friend was concerned and I already made her a promise. I decided instead of worrying over it, I would just say it now, Sighing reluctantly, I began, "So about yester-,"

"You gotta hear about the dream I had last night, Lew!" she interrupted me, to my relief. "It was pretty interesting! But not nearly as weird as the other dreams I've had."

"What happened in your dream?" I asked exhaustedly sweeping my hair out of my eyes.

"It was seriously weird," Vivi explained. "My parents and I were at this shitty hotel and I decided to chill at the outdoor swimming area with this girl. It was pretty col at first because we were doing cannonballs and stuff, but then the sky started to get really dark and grey, as if a storm was coming. Then it got freaky."

"Let me guess, rain starts pouring." I commented sarcastically.

"No!" my blue haired friend giggled. "Let me continue! Out of nowhere the girl goes wide eyed and starts panicking. I ask what's the matter and she just points up at the sky with this fearful expression on her face. I look up and the ground was up there. Like there was this giant slope with land formations and grass and everything hanging up above us. Almost as if someone had taken Earth, stretched it out, and tried to fold it in together. And somehow, there was still some laws of gravity in my dream, and objects started falling from this flipped upside-down land formation. And we're running like hell because we obviously don't want to be squished, but then it went black and my dad woke me up. I didn't get to see what happened next, but it was pretty cool!"

"No offense, but that dream sounds like a movie written by M. Night Shyamalan." I replied. "Really strange concept, not that thoroughly thought out. But it was a dream, so that makes sense. And it wasn't even one of your weirdest dreams?"

"Pshh no, I have so many dreams on a daily basis that that one fits at the bottom at the weird dream list! I have several dreams a night, if I even get past falling asleep. You could say I have a vivid imagination," the blue fanatic grinned. "I'm not that great at putting my imagination on paper though."

"I can write, I guess. But I'm not too good at coming up with fresh ideas. I'd ask you for help, but that would be like asking M. Night Shyamalan to write a book for you!" I chuckled, earning another light slap from Vivi.

"Stop calling me M. Night Shamala-whatcha-ma-call-it, that's insulting!" she laughed in response. "Most of his movies are so bad I'm yelling by the end of them!"

"The Sixth Sense was good though," I added.

"You've seen The Sixth Sense?" my blue haired friend asked fascinatedly.

"No," I snickered, "but I've heard from others that it's a pretty decent movie."

"Huh, I'll have to show you it sometime. But still, most of M. Night Shyamalan's movies are terrible..." Vivi concluded. "Wait, how did we get to talking about M. Night Shyamalan?"

Sighing, I answered, "You were telling me about your dream and I mentioned it was as wacky as a movie directed by him. Were you able to figure you what triggered the dream?"

I always believed that events from the past played a huge role in dreams and nightmares. Since I was older, I didn't dream nearly as much as I used to when I was younger, but it was always evident what caused my dreams. I never had too many nightmares either, and if I did, they didn't startle me too much because I always knew what had induced them. "Beats me," she shrugged in response. "I never know what causes all of those dreams!"

"Not at all?"

"Nope!" she said, taking out her royal blue headband to adjust it and put it back on. Her blue hair stayed right in place. "Ah, that's better.."

"Can you two take out your school IDs, please?" one of the staff members asked in an irritated tone, making me realize we were at the front of the line and definitely holding it up. The middle aged staff lady glared at me impatiently with an annoyed look in her tired eyes.

"S-sorry!" I exclaimed, blushing profusely and holding out my ID. "I wasn't paying attention..."

"Don't apologize, just pay attention and do it right." the lady snapped back at me. After we both scanned in, Vivi and I uncomfortably headed back to our table. I was still blushing like a madman. She chuckled in amusement at my beet red face. We sat back down and I let out a heavy sigh, wishing I didn't have such a bad blushing habit.

Free period flew by rather quickly. We spent a good half of it discussing trivial topics, such as Thanksgiving and anime shows that Vivi was into. I agreed to let her show me Sailor Moon and Another, since I was familiar with the first one and the second one sounded interesting. We also continued talking about M. Night Shyamalan and his wacky movies. I figured Vivi had forgotten about last night until she began asking more questions.

"So Lewis, what was up with last night? You were listening to that voice recording, but then you just ran off. What happened? Did it have to do with something the ghost said? I know you were able to understand it." Vivi claimed, putting her hands on her hips.

I gulped and ran a hand through my already untidy hair. I seriously didn't feel like sharing this with her. And I was entitled to my own privacy, so I didn't have to.. Right? "Do I have to talk about this..? It's kind of personal and it makes me really uncomfortable. Can I just slide on this one? I trust you, but I don't want to talk about this... I hope you understand.."

"Can you at least tell me what the voice had said? Was it trying to threaten Arthur or something?" the ghost fanatic asked rather shyly.

"Um... I... I don't know..." I hid my face in my large, warm hands. It was comforting, somehow. "It was saying that it missed me and that it wanted me to come home. It was fairly creepy, considering I've never even been to Arthur's house before."

"Yeah... That is pretty strange. How did this... Entity know you? You didn't live in any past houses before the one you currently live in now? Did you?" Vivi pondered in a concerned manner. "Did it say anything else?"

I fibbed uncertainly, "I... Uh... No? And I've lived in the same house my entire life, I don't know how this ghost could know me."

"Liar," Vivi snickered at my sheepish demeanor. "It totally said something else, by the look on your face. What did it say? And how did it you know it was talking to you in the first place?"

I exhaled frustratedly. She was absolutely relentless. "Look," I said impulsively, "I just knew, okay? And that's all the ghost said. I don't know how this ghost knows me at all. But I think maybe checking out Arthur's house or helping him uncover the history behind it would be somewhat helpful."

"If that's all it said, why did you get so fed up about it?" my blue haired friend asked, her tone implying that she demanded an answer.

"I said earlier, it just creeped me out!" I exclaimed in annoyance. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I'm worried about you! And I know that's all bullshit! You don't get that emotional over things like these! I'm only trying to figure out what's going on, so be helpful for once and answer the question!" she retorted, clenching her fists.

I defended myself, arguing, "You're not being helpful either, you're just being nosy! I said peacefully that I didn't want to talk about this, but no! You just have to know everything! Ugh... Look, the voice called me by an old nickname that nobody uses anymore and I got a bit upset over it, okay!? There you have it!"

"Fine, whatever. Sorry for trying to look out for one of my only friends, jeez." Vivi muttered angrily. I relaxed, rubbing my temples and doing the best I could to silence my temper. "I bet it had to do with that abusive grandmother of yours, didn't it?"

"SHUT UP!" I blurted out furiously. "Just shut up! Let me calm down already! All you ever do is talk! You have no idea how happy I'd be if you just shut your damn mouth for a minute!"

Silence.

My stomach sank from the realization of what I had just done. I got that really nasty foreshadowing feeling. That one I get if I back talk to a parent on accident. That feeling I get when I accidentally drop a swear word in front of one of my baby cousins. That feeling I get when I do something wrong and instantly feel guilty about it. Like right now. I shivered in suspension and guilt and glanced anxiously over at Vivi, who silently stared down at the table. She looked surprisingly nonchalant, but then I noticed her hands, which were balled into fists so tight that her finger nails were probably cutting into her skin.

She threw me a harsh glare as the bell rung, signaling the end of free period. It was so foreign seeing her eyes reflect that much anger. "Vivi, I'm sorry..." my voice cracked and trailed off as she snatched her backpack and ran faster than a bolt of lightning out of the cafeteria, ignoring me completely.

I cringed as I mentally scolded myself for fucking up so quickly. She didn't seem like the begrudging type, but I had never gotten her angry at me before. She had left before I even had the chance to apologize to her. I didn't stand up. I didn't go after her. I didn't gather my books. I just sat there, staring blankly at Vivi's abandoned seat. "Oh man," I muttered to myself. "I fucked up..."

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><p>"Arthur, I fucked up!" I whispered to him urgently as study hall began,<p>

"Well shit," he chuckled, earning a serious glare from me. "Jeez sorry... Just trying to lighten up the situation here. What'd you do though? What happened?"

I took in a deep breath before continuing, "Vivi and I got into an argument and I lost my temper and yelled at her... And now she's seriously pissed at me! I think.."

"Good for you," Arthur commented sarcastically. "But seriously, apologize to her the first chance you get. The longer the wait, the longer the girl's grudge builds up. Trust me, I have dating experience."

"Dude, it's not like that, we're just friends!" I argued, crossing my arms as my face began to heat up. "And since when did you have girl experience?"

"I dated this girl, Kassandra, last year." The orange haired boy explained. "She was practically insane! Though she was attractive, and into mechanics like me, and my parents loved her! But Kassandra was really manipulative and kinda forceful. She was reckless and she would force me to join her in on her daredevil stunts. And if I refused, she would get angry at me until I cave and let her have her way. She would make me do ridiculously dangerous things, like jump from a second floor window or skateboard down from the school's stairwells. We didn't break it off until the time she forced me to climb to the top of this huge tree with her and she pushed me out of it and I broke my nose."

"Ouch," I said bluntly.

"Yeah, Kass tried to pin that one on me, but I was sick of her bullshit so we just ended it. The rest of the year she would always make rumors about me, trying to make me look like a huge douche. And they were all ridiculous rumors too."

"I think she just desperately wanted someone to join her in those sort of things... Maybe she was just lonely." I mumbled quietly.

"Lewis, she pushed me out of a tree! On purpose!" Arthur paused to let out an exaggerated sigh before continuing, "Anyway, my point is, Vivi is nowhere near my ex on the crazy spectrum. All you need to do is give her a sincere apology and pat her on the back and she'll most likely forgive you. She's a really sweet girl, and I'm pretty sure she'll understand why you flipped out like that. This does depend on what you said though... Why were you guys even arguing?"

"Vivi was worried about how I was acting yesterday and she wouldn't stop pestering me about it after I told her to drop it. Then suddenly, we were just bickering like children and I was yelling and Vivi looked like she wanted to punch someone and it was just... Things escalated rather quickly." I told him.

Arthur tapped his pencil rhythmically on his desk as he spoke. "I was actually going to ask you about what happened yesterday, but now that I know you really don't want to talk about it I won't bring it up. Everyone has that one thing that they just loathe talking about. You didn't say anything that could've possibly hurt her feelings, did you?"

"I probably did," I muttered ashamedly.

"Then in that case, make it a long, sincere, AND meaningful apology. I know you're not that good with communication, but you're going to have to overcome that hurdle if you want your friend back." The orange haired boy remarked.

"Right," I nodded. Arthur was right. I had to get ahold of Vivi as soon as possible and say I was sorry.

"Anyway, another thing about yesterday. I thought about that offer you and Vivi made. You know, the one about joining your ghost hunting group. I'm not that into getting the pants scared off of me, and you guys don't really have a solid plan yet, but I like it. You two need some equipment and a technician, and I need some friends and a hobby, so I think Mystery and I'll join the team!"

"Really? Sweet! We'll have to tell Vivi... If she even forgives me, that is. But that's cool! You don't need to lend your equipment, though-" I began before Arthur held up a hand and interrupted me.

"I'm not even gonna let you finish saying that, dude. Look, you don't have any ghost hunting gear, and Vivi isn't going to convince her brother to lend over his anytime soon, so we can use mine. For now, at least. And don't go into that 'I'm afraid of breaking it crap.' I'm having to fix these babies every other day, so it doesn't matter." He said. "But one thing, if we are going to do this, we have to work to make it happen. We can't just sit around and fantasize about it until it's too late."

"Great point, Arthur." I replied, quickly glancing at the clock to see how much time was left of study hall before lunch. "We only have one little plan so far and it's about the first place we're going to. About a few blocks away from my cousin Alfonso's house is this old, haunted Victorian style house and Vivi and I thought we could check it out sometime. We'd have to do a little background research on the actual house first, but we were thinking of having our very first investigation there! Vivi and I could explore the house, you stay in one place and evaluate whatever evidence we catch, and Mystery... What could he do?"

"Whatever the hell he wants, I guess. That dog is too spontaneous," Arthur chuckled. "But another thing- are we even allowed access to this house? Or are we trespassing?"

I shrugged, "Well, it's just another abandoned house, so we're probably trespassing to get inside, but I'm pretty sure no one will care, I mean it's just an empty old house, right?"

The orange haired boy sighed wearily and nervously ran a hand through his spiky, gel covered hair. "My parents would never let me do that... Especially with people they've never met before... Are you not the least bit concerned that your plan is to break into a house!?"

"Shh! This is a classroom, not a cafeteria!" My elderly study hall teacher, Mr. Rooney shushed us. "I shouldn't hear any talking!"

Cringing, I brought my voice to a whisper. "It'll be fine, dude! It may be risky, but it's not like the entire government will be watching one, little old house for trespassers. We're gonna take some precautions and we'll be just fine. Besides, we could just tell our parents that we're all going to do something else and then sneak the ghost equipment with us." I explained, feeling troubled by the hesitant expression on Arthur's face.

"I don't know, man. It really doesn't seem like a safe idea... You guys should probably rethink your plan..." the orange haired boy mumbled sheepishly.

"Arthur, bear with me here. I honestly don't know what this 'plan' is. You know what? Let's talk about this more later, when we're all together and Vivi's no longer angry at me. Do you know where my locker is?" I asked.

"No...?"

"It's by that back corner in the driver's ed hallway." I informed him. "After school, meet me and Vivi there by my locker. I'll most likely be standing by my locker waiting for you so just go to the driver's ed hallway right after school."

"Okay, I'll try to remember to go there." he said. "Hopefully I'll remember! I tend to be a bit forgetful once the school day's over with."

"Here, we'll wait there for... About fifteen minutes after the final bell rings, and if you never show up, we'll just leave. It'll be fifteen minutes, so you'll be able to get to my locker before then." I glanced at the clock again. Five minute of class were left. "We'll talk for a little while about our plans and then... Then we'll just leave I guess. Can't stay at school too long."

"You've got a point there. They'll kick us out, but it's not like I'd actually want to spend extra time in this hellhole anyway. You and Vivi seem like the only sensible people at this stupid school." Arthur scoffed. "Say, I'll have to invite you guys to my house sometime soon. Besides, my parents are starting to get curious. You know, about who I've been hanging out with so much."

"Oh dear," I chuckled. "Let's hope they don't assume I'm Hispanic!"

"Dude, I'm still super sorry about that! I just didn't know..." The orange haired boy mumbled.

"It's okay, you're not the only one who's done it. Vivi's parents and many others have made the same mistake. It's okay man." I sighed, patting Arthur on the back reassuringly.

"Well then, if that's the case. I'll try to see if I can invite the two of you over sometime soon. Hopefully my brothers won't have the whole week filled up with sports. Also, I'm gonna go to the attic today to see if I can find any records or something that helps with figuring out the history of this house. I asked my parents about it yesterday, but they didn't say too much."

"What did they say? Anything useful?" I asked, crossing my arms.

My dorky friend sighed exasperatedly and continued, "My mom told me all she knew was that they bought the house from some lonely old guy. She said that the dude was really meek and gloomy and he was really happy to get the house off his hands. Of course, that's all she remembered about him, so I barely got any information. Then I confronted my dad about it and he told me the same thing, except he also claimed that the dude spoke really broken English. Dad said he was pretty difficult to understand, and the guy was always stuttering too. I didn't remember much about the man we bought our house from, so I decided to ask my older brother to see if he remembered anything about this old guy. He brought up his stupid theory again about. Cole began babbling about the picture he found of an elderly couple that 'went missing' before he could show it to me."

I remarked, "Huh.. That's something to start from. Did you ask him anything about the couple's appearance?"

"Nope, it never occurred to me to ask him a good question like that. Besides, I feel like my attic will have more answers than my family anyway. There's still some junk from the previous owners up there that we forgot to get rid of when we first moved in. Of course, I never thought of sifting through their stuff to look for answers. But I think Mystery and I'll get to that today." Arthur told me, a determined look shining in his eyes. "I just know we'll find something."

"That doesn't sound too off putting, but the previous house owner, the elderly man, had to know something about what's going on with all of the paranormal activity in the attic. Maybe he's the one haunting the attic! But from how your parents described him, he doesn't sound threatening compared to that thing in your attic." I replied as the bell began to ring obnoxiously. "Well, let me know how it goes! And don't forget to meet me and Vivi at my locker after school!"

Arthur snatched his backpack and waved to me as he left the classroom. Now that I was back to being alone, I was free to worry about the fight with Vivi all over again. Hopefully I would get a chance to apologize to her in Math. I let out a deep sigh as I gathered my books and headed down the crowded hallway to lunch, trying to ignore the creeping suspenseful feeling that was trying to make a comeback.

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><p>I gave out a long sigh, that quickly faded away like my confidence as I yanked open the classroom door. Most of my classmates were already inside, chattering and giggling away as usual. But Vivi was nowhere to be seen. That little fact worried me, but there was still two minutes before class began, so she'd probably show up soon. Hopefully. I seriously needed to apologize to her. I hadn't seen Vivi since this morning, so who knew how she would react? Would she hold a grudge on me? Would her feelings be hurt? Would she simply give me the cold shoulder? Who knows.<p>

I took my seat and pulled out a book to distract me from the problem at hand. I had just begun reading a novel called, "The Haunted." It was a large collection of short stories about realistic hauntings. Meaning all of the stories seemed almost like real experiences and weren't made up of exaggerated demonic possessions like most horror novels at the time. The current story I was on was about a single mother and her two children moving into a haunted apartment complex. So far, she was only hearing suspicious noises around her house and her pet cat was acting strangely. I really enjoyed the stories because even though they weren't as intense, it was made up for with great foreshadowing and suspense.

I thought about what I would do if I ever had to experience a haunting. I was going to dive headfirst into the ghost hunting field, so why not? I thought that the first thing I'd do would be to research that location and figure out why the area is haunted in the first place. Being educated on the previous owners and any backstory of the haunted location would be pretty helpful before confronting any ghosts about it. You wouldn't be able to interrogate anything if you didn't have any questions, no?

My wandering thoughts were interrupted by a sudden tap on the shoulder and a, "Hey, have you seen that blue haired girl around at all?"

I turned to my classmate. "Excuse me?"

"Have you seen Vivi at all today?" She asks tiredly, her dark eyes implying seriousness. "Look, I'm working on a project with her in my social studies class, and she wasn't there last period, so I want to know if she's here. So I could get my research notes from her. And you're her friend, so that's why I'm asking you."

"She was here this morning, but I haven't seen her since." I replied nervously. "Sorry..."

"Nah, it's chill man. Let me know if you do see her. I don't know Vivi too well, but I know it's not like her to cut class like that." The girl told me as the class bell began ringing obnoxiously. She then turned back to face the board, leaving me to worry about Vivi.

"There's no way she ditched class just because she's mad at me," I thought to myself urgently as I put my book away. She couldn't have done that. My eyes locked with the door, hoping my blue haired friend would open it eventually. But she never did.

I gulped and tried to focus on my math teacher, which was something I almost never did. Mrs. Tiemann began her daily lecture as usual. Today it was on factoring, as it was yesterday and the day before and so on. They taught us about factoring every year, even though I already had it down. I was a quick learner, which was probably the only reason why I was passing high school in the first place.

My teacher continued to rant about various types of factoring while I nervously doodled on my notebook, failing miserably to hide my worry over Vivi's disappearance. I didn't hurt her feelings, did I? If she was cutting class just to avoid me, then I really had some apologizing to do. We had only been friends for a month and I already screwed it up. I thought she would have calmed down a bit more throughout the day, but I guess I was wrong. I anxiously scribbled in the margins of my math notebook with my mechanical pencil while my teacher rambled on. This was my plan for coping with my concern.

The halfway bell seemed forever ago and I was still carrying out with my coping plan when the door suddenly creaked open. My eyes locked on Vivi, who entered the classroom quietly, shuffling awkwardly towards the teacher with a pink slip of paper in hand. She handed it to Mrs. Tiemann and mumbled something incoherently to her, something I was too far out of hearing range to hear. My blue haired friend then quickly dashed towards her seat and pulled out her notebook. She flashed me a tiny, almost fake smile before turning her focus towards the lesson. Vivi didn't seem angry or sad, but she looked eerily nonchalant and it was definitely suspicious. One thing was apparent though. She wasn't nearly as happy as usual.

"Psst, Vivi!" I whispered urgently, getting a questionable expression in response from her. "Look, about earlier… I really lost my temper and I know I shouldn't have done that. I feel terrible for yelling at you and I want to say I'm really sorry…"

The blue haired girl stared at me blankly for a few quiet seconds before crinkling her nose and asking, "What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean what am I talking about? We got into a fight this morning and I lashed out at you… Don't you remember? Aren't you mad at me?" I exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Huh? We never fought." Vivi muttered.

"You must be joking." I sighed exhaustedly. "Are you just kidding, just to mess with me?" I questioned. If I said I was a bit confused, that would be the understatement of the year.

"Mr. Hinsey! I don't appreciate talking in my classroom, even if there's less than a minute of class left!" Mrs. Tiemann scolded, her face wrinkling in frustration. "This is your only warning, you got that?"

"Yes, ma'am." I said shortly. "I'm sorry."

My teacher continued her elongated lecture and I turned back towards Vivi, who had a troubled expression on her face. "I really don't know what on earth you're talking about, Lew. Are you okay?"

"I should be asking the same for you." I retorted.

"Well whatever, let's just leave all of that confusing crap behind us. I'll see you tomorrow!" Vivi smiled as the bell rang. She then snatched her books as fast as possible and dashed out of the classroom, leaving me to wonder what the hell was going on. And I didn't even get the chance to tell her about our plans at my locker.

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><p><strong>(AN: Well, it's three in the morning, my eyes hurt, I can hear colors, and I'm ready to pass out, but hey! At least chapter 16 is finally up! I apologize because finals happened and Christmas shopping happened and that kinda screwed up my writing schedule. But have no fear! I am now on winter break, so I am free from school to get back on track. Well... I'm really tired and I don't know what else to say, so... Please review! Reviews make me really happy U And I'll see you, in the next chapter! Thanks for reading and bye bye!)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17- A Creeping Suspicion**

**Disclaimer: All of these beautiful rights and characters belong to MysteryBen and company. I merely own my ideas, my laptop, and some pretty epic manga I'll be reading later on today.**

**A Message: Somewhere towards the end of the chapter there will be a lot of profanities present. Just a heads up for those of you who are uncomfortable with swearing. I'll be using a loooooot of curses sadly, so I apologize beforehand if this disturbs you in any way whatsoever. This has been a warning.**

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><p>I tried to run after Vivi to ask her what was going on, but when I sprinted out into the hallway with my textbooks, she was already long gone. I was completely unable to find her in the crowded sea of high schoolers. I myself was caught up in the current and I was almost forced to move in one direction. I headed to my locker, as that's where Arthur would be located. But when I finally reached my destination, he was nowhere to be seen. I thought, maybe he was just stuck in student body traffic and would get here in a few minutes. But there was a lingering feeling that I was completely wrong.<p>

I quickly placed the books I didn't need on the tiny top shelf (that I practically loomed over) in my locker and snatched my casual purple windbreaker. Most of the lockers at this school were rusted, beat up, and too tall for most people, but being 6'3" at least helped in this situation. I was only a few inches taller than my locker, but that still made it quite a bit easier to see the top shelf. After grabbing what I needed, I shut my locker and leaned against it, scanning the sea of students for Arthur, who had yet to meet up with me at my locker.

I looked over the heads of many classmates, trying to find the bright blonde head that belonged to Arthur. "He's probably getting his books from his own locker," I muttered to myself for reassurance. "He'll be here soon."

I continued to watch students come and go, all of them anxious to get out of school. There was an uneasy feeling at the bottom of my stomach about Arthur. I was beginning to assume he simply forgot about our plan and went home. He did say he was a bit forgetful at times. But not nearly as forgetful as Vivi. How could she possibly 'not remember' what happened this morning? And that pink slip... That meant she had taken a trip to the deans' office. But why? Was she turning me into the school or something? I sighed and shook my head. There was definitely something strange going on here.

Suddenly, a flash of blue- cotton candy blue- caught my eye and I instantly knew who it was. "Vivi!" I hollered as I took off and chased her down the crowded hallway. I quickly caught up with my friend and turned her around. She looked back at me, slightly confused.

"What is it, Lew? You're acting so strange today!" She remarked, seemingly oblivious as to what was going on. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking that to you!" I exclaimed. "Look, we seriously need to talk... Somewhere away from all of these people."

"But Lewis, I need to get home-" Vivi began as I grabbed her hand and lead her quietly back down to the driver's ed hallway, which was now nearly empty. The stairs leading to the school exits were in other nearby hallways, so everyone scrambling down the driver's ed hallway earlier had quickly disappeared.

My blue haired friend opened her mouth to talk, but I shushed her and said, "I need you to know that I'm sorry. Look, we were fighting this morning during free period over what I panicked about yesterday and I really lost it and snapped at you. I was only frustrated because I felt talking about it since it was really personal, but that isn't an excuse for lashing out at you like that. I feel horrible for screwing up like this, but I know you must feel even worse and for that I'm sorry."

"I... I don't... I don't remember that." Vivi spoke in a faltering tone, almost as if she was trying to tell that to herself. She let out a wistful sigh, "I can't... I'm sorry Lewis."

I awkwardly patted my friend's back, trying to reassure her. "Vivi, I'm fine! I'm concerned about you right now because you're acting even stranger than I probably am. You're saying you don't remember and I thought you'd be mad and I don't even know where you went with that deans' office pass. I'm really confused and I bet that's how you felt this morning. You don't have to worry about me."

"You know what... Let's just settle this. I'll tell you what's up with me if you tell me about yesterday. We're both worried over stupid things and it would be better to just lay down the truth instead of arguing about it like ten year olds." Vivi stated, adjusting her tinted glasses. "Or we could just drop it and pretend like it never happened."

"You're right. We really are acting immature. I'll go first." I took a deep breath before explaining everything. What the voice had said, why I had run off to the bathroom, why I wanted to cover it up, all of that. I told her how the voice perfectly imitated my grandmother, right down to her accent. I told Vivi that the whole situation made me uncomfortable and it was hard to talk about. When I finally finished, my friend was ready to explain her part of the problem.

"Alright, here it goes.. You know how my brother taught me to repress my emotions, right?" I nodded in response. "Well he taught me when I was nine or so, and I found it a very useful coping mechanism. So from there, I figured out how to repress my own memories. That turned into a bad habit of mine though, intentionally trying to forget unpleasant events and memories. All because I used it too much... Because, well..." Her voice trailed off gradually, as if she didn't know what to say.

"Because what?" I asked quietly, feeling slightly afraid to hear her answer.

Vivi confided, "I'm always trying to forget the things I dream up every night. I may or may not have chronic nightmares, and they're really not that scary, but in my mind they're terrifying. I dunno. But repressing those memories helps somewhat, and since I do that so often, I've formed this bad habit of using it as a coping mechanism. I also see a therapist every once and a while, including today, which was why I was gone for most of class. But talking about it with random adults isn't as helpful. So I either just stay up all night or try my hardest to forget my dreams."

"I... I never knew that." I replied blankly, somewhat taken aback. I lightly patted Vivi's shoulder, not sure how to react. "I'm sorry.."

"Don't apologize, Lew. Look, I know this is awkward, revealing deeply personal things to each other. But now that we got that over with, I say we just jump over this hurdle and go back to how it was less than twenty-four hours ago. I won't bring up your deceased grandmother ever again, and hopefully you won't take pity on me just for being a bit of an amnesiac. How about it?" My blue haired friend suggested, an optimistic smile playing on her lips.

"I guess. You know, I told Arthur that we were all gonna meet up at my locker right now but I don't see him anywhere." I informed her. "I wanted to try to find some kind of plan as to how we're going to throw ourselves into the ghost hunting field."

"Yeah, we really don't have a plan, do we..?"

"That's why I wanted for the three of us to meet up here after school, but he isn't here yet. And what time is it? I told him we were just gonna go home fifteen minutes after the bell rang if he didn't show up." I explained.

"Three twenty one... Sixteen minutes past the bell. I bet he just forgot or something!" Vivi reassured me, the usual bright smile coming back to her face. "We can always talk about it tomorrow! C'mon, let's go."

"Alright," I sighed wistfully. We strolled down the empty hallways in a calm silence. Most of our classmates had already left, but there was still a little commotion here and there. I was quiet for a moment, thinking about my friend's confession. I was kind of surprised that I didn't see it before. Vivi had talked a little about being unable to sleep lately. I just never saw it. She seemed completely undisturbed by horror, which was probably because she was already facing her own horrors. I shuddered a little from the realization.

I glanced over at my chipper blue haired friend, who wore a small grin on her face. She looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. "What'cha looking at, Lew?"

"N-nothing! Just thinking, that's all!" I exclaimed a bit too nervously, my face beginning to heat up. I had to think fast. "I... uh... Why do you wear pink glasses? Is it for accessory or something...?"

"Dude," Vivi chuckled before explaining, "I'm color blind! I can't see shades of red, green, and purple too well, so I have these babies to fix that. Protanopia, I believe it's called. The glasses are tinted to help me see those colors. Like if I took them off, you and your purple getup would all be a deep shade of blue. Not that I really mind, though."

"Interesting," I remarked. "But it doesn't it make everything look pink?"

"At first, yeah. But then you get used to it and you can see other colors too. My mom would always joke about blue being my favorite color because it's 'practically the only color I can see.' It's not that big of a deal though. Being blind to certain colors hasn't affected me too much 'cause I've always had tinted glasses to help me out with that sort of stuff. Wanna try them on?" My friend asked, taking off her spectacles.

"Uh... Sure?" I hesitantly took the glasses from her hand and carefully put them on. I blinked hard a few times and opened my eyes, which practically stung from the brightness of the pink everything. The glasses turned my surroundings all a bold magenta, some orange and red here and there. "Gosh it's so bright it burns! How do you stand these?"

Vivi put her hands on her hips and giggled, "Really? I don't find them that bad. Probably because I wear them every day. Here, let me see!"

I gladly took of my friend's glasses and handed them back to her. Rubbing my eyes, I exclaimed, "Agh, my eyes! Those glasses must me a pain... You seem to have all the medical issues, huh?"

"Eh, not really, if you think about it." She explained solemnly as we climbed down the stairs. "I've met people with worse issues and mine aren't nearly as bad compared to theirs, so I should be grateful for having milder health problems."

"That's one way too look at it." I sighed. "Personally, I've never had any health issues, so I wouldn't understand your situation completely."

"It's okay, Lew. Just having to wear glasses for some petty eyesight problems isn't all that bad- Huh? What's going on down there?" Vivi asked curiously, pointing down to the end of the hallway, where a noisy crowd of students flooded in front of one small area by a group of lockers.

"What?" I blurted out, equally intrigued by the random mob. As we got closer to the horde, we were able to hear what they were all screaming about.

"C'mon man, fight 'em! Move already! Fight! Fight!" The teenagers chanted over and over again. A pit of concern formed in my stomach. A sickening thud resounded through the air, leaving the crowd baffled for a minute. Then they all got back to chanting. "Knock him out, Joshua!" One boy hollered mercilessly. "That little fuckboy deserves it!"

"What the hell is going on!?" Vivi nearly screamed at me because the whooping and hollering over the fight was so loud. She then turned to the boy and asked the same question to him, this time in an angrier way.

"I-I don't know!" The kid fibbed weakly.

"Bullshit!" My blue haired friend growled. "You tell me who's fighting who right this second! Or else I'll have to start another fight!"

"Vivi, calm down! I'll try to get closer and see what's going on!" I told her before I forced myself deeper into the crowd. Despite being the tallest person there, I still couldn't see what was happening because there were tons of students, some even sitting on others' shoulders. After shoving countless teenagers out of my way, I finally got a small view of the fight. One large, menacing boy stood tall and confidently, cracking his knuckles. He wasn't as tall as me, but he was stocky and fair in size, so I assumed he was a junior. He snickered to his other friends behind him before swooping in again and throwing a punch at the unseen victim.

"Are ya giving up yet, ya fuckin' dork!?" He jeered before adding, "Maybe it's time I pull out my knife!"

"Stop!" A far too familiar voice cried out weakly, "I can't... I can't breathe, dude! Stop it! Aren't I already beat up enough!?"

"Arthur!" I called out before pushing and shoving my way through the rest of the crowd and practically falling into the fight circle. "Arthur, are you okay?"

My orange haired friend didn't look too beat up, besides a swollen cheek, but he held a closed fist over his his chest, which had to be some kind of signal for something. He looked up at me and huffed, "Lewis man, I'm fucked!"

"We'll talk about this later," I told Arthur reassuringly before turning to his opponents, mustering up a strong glare. "Why are you doing this?"

The bully took a look at his friends and then snickered, "The fuck do you want? This little jackass here just tripped me, trying to be a little attention-whore! He needs to learn a lesson, don'tcha think?"

"I did it on accident Lewis, I swear!" My orange haired friend called out from behind me. "I accidentally tripped him and then he just started pounding me!"

"It's okay, I believe you. Now you... What the hell do you think you're accomplishing here!? Just leave my friend alone!" I yelled, clenching my fists as an attempt to look menacing.

"Oh so you're with that little shit, huh? Well I guess I'll just have to take on the pink douche bag too!" He sneered, revealing his gross yellow teeth.

"Excuse me!?" Vivi angrily pushed her way through the crowd. "Lew, hold my glasses, I think I'm going to have to slap a bastard!"

"Vivi, don't! You'll only get in trouble!" I said, holding her back. Suddenly, the opponent quickly pushed in between us and brought a swift kick to Arthur's chest. He dropped to the floor with a weak cry. "You asshole!" I seethed madly.

"Now you ready to give up, jackass? Ready to let your petty little friends take over for you?" He laughed, looming over my fallen friend.

Arthur gradually got back up to his feet and answered confidently, "You wish! You depend more on laughs from your idiotic friends than I depend on my life!" He prepared to throw a punch at his attacker but he caught his wrist in lightning speed. The attacker flipped him over and sent a rough kick to Arthur's face, making my friend fall to the ground yet again.

I couldn't sit there anymore, I went to grab the bully but was stopped by Vivi's hand. "Don't do that! It's not worth your effort!" I looked helplessly at my orange haired friend, who simply laid on the tile floor, holding a hand to his nose, which was spurting deep red blood.

Out of nowhere, the boy turned away from Arthur and lunged at Vivi mercilessly. The crowd remained, chanting and cheering and doing absolutely nothing to help the situation. I quickly leapt in front of Vivi and held out my arms, cringing. I opened my eyes and gave him the coldest glare I could possibly muster up. He had tried to hurt Vivi, who had done absolutely nothing to him. My mind was suddenly filled with rage and I spat at him, "_È figlio di puttana malato_!"

"The fuck does that mean? You callin' me a bitch, you pissy Mexican?" I snapped and lunged at the boy, trying to slap him, but failing miserably as he threw a fast punch at my face. I stumbled back for a second to grab my left cheek, my head spinning.

"Oh my gosh! I'll get a nurse!" Vivi shouted as she took off in the crowd, dashing down the hallway. I was too distracted by her and Arthur's distant wheezing to notice another punch being targeted towards me. He hit my jaw with a loud thud and pain erupted in my face. I winced and the crowd continued to whoop, finding it amusing that the bully was able to fight better than someone so much taller. I was just about ready to wrap the guy into a headlock when I realized Vivi and a teacher weren't that far away. I would definitely get in trouble for this, as much as the fucker deserved it.

Making up my mind, I ducked out of the assailant's way and rushed over to Arthur, whose hand was covered in blood from his nose. His cheek looked a little less swollen, but he was still wheezing from the kick he received to the chest. "C'mon, stand up, we're going to the nurse." I ordered, helping him up.

"What about-?" Arthur was almost immediately interrupted by the junior, who had finally finished talking trash about us with his friends and returned to the fight.

"Huh, looks like you're both gonna run off like little pussies, eh? I at least had some confidence in you, ya pink douche bag! Thought you'd have the balls to fight. But eh, I guess you're just like your little fuckboy friend over here!" He jeered, trying his best to anger me. I would have been angry, but knowing that was was he wanted, I managed to hold my temper just a bit longer.

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked exhaustedly. "He says he tripped you on accident, yet you have to go and cause all of this commotion yourself? Just because you want to entertain your jackass friends? That's pointless! And to go as far as to hurting me and my friends? Bullshit! _Vaffanculo_! You shit around with Arthur so much and he doesn't deserve any of that crap, so why don't you just-"

"Smack him already!" One of the many spectators hollered impatiently from behind. I was unsure if he was referring to me or the junior. Before I knew it, the bully took a chance and delivered solid punches to me twice- once in the jaw, and the other one right below my right eye. I expected the crowd to start whooping again, but instead whispers sounded throughout the circle and suddenly, all of the spectators flooded away urgently, looking as if they had seen a ghost. I whipped around to see Vivi and one of the many school counselors dashing towards us. "Oh shit, that bitch sold us out!" the junior cried out before grabbing his equally idiotic friends and making a run for it.

I approached the two, holding my cheek with one hand and guiding Arthur with my other hand on his upper back. "You saw that, right?" I asked.

"Oh my god, you two need to get to a nurse!" Vivi gasped worriedly.

"Agreed," the office secretary stated. "We'll have a chat about what happened after y'all get yourselves treated at the nurse's office. I'll write you all passes for first

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><p>"Oh my, you two really got yourselves beat up this time!" The elderly nurse exclaimed lightly, trying to bring humor into the room. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing you three often... Hopefully I'm wrong!"<p>

"You got that right," Vivi sighed, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

I forced a small smile as the nurse handed me two ice packs. One for my jaw and one for the light black eye I was sporting. Other than my jaw being sore and my cheek being bruised, I was mostly fine after the whole fight. A sudden tiredness was beginning to sweep over me though. Vivi didn't have a mark or scratch on her, thankfully, since I managed to jump in front of her in time. Arthur, on the other hand, wasn't doing too hot. He wasn't bruised like I was, but his nose was still bleeding quite a bit, he claimed his chest was really sore, and he kept making these light, but unnerving wheezing noises.

"Ah man, I could go for a drink of ice cold water.." My orange haired friend wheezed, wincing slightly.

"I'll get you two something to drink in a second, but first," the nurse paused and handed Arthur a small, red inhaler. "Make sure your breathing's okay."

I panted as I gladly accepted a small paper cup of water from the nurse. "Ugh, I'm exhausted... And that fight wasn't even that fast-paced."

"Speak for yourself," Arthur retorted before pressing down on the medicine capsule of the inhaler and breathing in. It made a squeaky whistle noise, which I found very irritating.

"You guys didn't fight back, did you?" Vivi asked in a concerned tone. "If you did hit him or something like that, you guys could get into some deep trouble."

We both reassured her that we didn't inflict any harm on the bully and that we were the only ones who got beat up. "Alright, sweethearts, I'll get the both of you's something to drink and another ice pack and then you'll be on your way. Make sure you phone your parents to pick you up 'cause the bus already left ten minutes ago." The nurse informed us. I exhaustedly turned towards Arthur, who was already sending a message to his dad.

"I already know I'm walking home, so I'll be fine. How about you, Lewis? You walking home too?" My blue haired friend asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Nah, I think I'll just call for a ride," I yawned. "I feel completely drained of energy."

"My brother's making a U-turn to come back and pick me up. Apparently, he didn't have any suspicions when he left school without me, even though we drive home together practically every single day! He said he'd be here in about five minutes." Arthur announced. His wheezing had disappeared completely. "Maybe I could ask him to see if he's willing to carpool you two home..?"

"Sure, I don't mind," I told him. "I usually walk home, but I think the parents will be okay with me getting a ride for once. Plus we're all beat up from that fight."

"Except for me. I feel almost bad that I left you guys! If I had been just a little quicker you guys wouldn't have been hurt as much!" Vivi exclaimed, standing up and inching closer towards the door.

I stood up too, snatching my book bag. "It's not your fault, Vivi. You weren't the one punching us."

"Eh, true." She sighed.

"Are you three leaving now?" The nurse asked, earning nods in agreement from all three of us. "Okay then, I'm gonna need those ice packs then. Sadly, they can't leave the school, so I'll need them back. And remember to come down to the counselor's office tomorrow so you guys can give the counselor some info about the fight!"

Arthur and I reluctantly handed our still cold ice packs to the nurse and thanked her for treating us, since there was really nothing else to say. Then, the three of us joined up and headed down the hall. We mostly talked about the fight the whole time and about what had happened before we showed up to accompany Arthur. He told Vivi and I that he got punched a few times in the stomach before we had showed up to rescue him. He said that nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a big deal. After catching up with each other on the events of the fight, we moved on to our plans for ghost hunting.

"Sorry we weren't able to meet up and talk about it.." My orange haired friend mumbled sheepishly. "But maybe I can try to invite you guys to my place sometime this week and we could discuss our plans there."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Vivi smiled brightly. Suddenly, her face changed from a happy expression to one of realization. "Oh crap! I forgot my backpack in the nurse's office!"

"Go with her, Lewis." Arthur told me. "I'll stay here and wait for my brother so he doesn't ditch us. Make sure you guys are quick though!"

We both rushed back into the building and raced each other to the nurse's office, since the hallways were empty. "Back so soon, are you?" The nurse asked, chuckling, as Vivi reached inside to grab her backpack.

"I just forgot this," she explained. "Now have a good day!" Vivi shut the door again before the nurse could respond.

"That was a bit rude," I remarked as we walked back down the hallway. "She just helped us and you slammed the door in her face."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to be quick, like Arthur said!" My blue haired friend giggled, a small grin playing on her lips.

"Alright, alright." I sighed.

"And one more thing. Thanks for doing what you did back there. Protecting me and all. It was sweet!" Vivi beamed. "Haha, you're blushing again! You're such a big softie, you know that Lew?"

"It was nothing," I mumbled, trying to hide the redness spreading across my face. "I had to jump out in front of you."

"It was nothing, my ass!" Vivi paused and unexpectedly wrapped her arms around me for some kind of awkward thank you hug. I felt my face burning brighter than the sun as she mumbled, "Thank you, Lewis," into my side. She then let go, stopping to giggle at my blushing, and then taking off down the hallway.

"Catch me if you can!" she hollered, not bothering to care if any teachers possibly heard her. I couldn't help but smile over the whole ordeal. Today was horrible, and the suspicious feeling I had this morning was definitely correct, but I still felt all fluttery inside anyway.

I shook my head doubtingly and shouted, "You better run!" as I sped up and chased Vivi down the hallway, not giving a care in the world. And somehow, not giving a care in the world felt like one of the greatest feelings ever, at the time. But someday, I would learn that too much of something good can lead to something horribly wrong.

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><p><strong>(AN: Well I should be getting ready for a party right this second but I scrambled and here you go, chapter 17! Let me make this one quick. First of all, Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanza! {hope I spelled that correctly} All of you, have a great holiday! And another thing, the whole Vivi being color blind theory is just something I thought of, although I did do some 'research' and it's pretty likely she wears tinted glasses for color blindness. So yeah. Anyway, please review, reviews make me happy :D And I'll see you *dramatic pause* in the next chapter! Bye bye!)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18- The Journey To Arthur's House**

**Disclaimer: Yoooooo all of these lovely characters belong to MysteryBen, Artsy, Helios, and any other mystery masters. I merely own my ideas, my laptop, and a shitty story cover, as you can now see XD**

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><p>"So we'll meet up at Morton's in an hour?" I asked into the phone, waiting patiently for Arthur's reply. "And then what?"<p>

His voice finally came through my phone. In an anxious whisper, he told me, "I-I u-uh... We'll just bike to my place from there. Make sure you text Vivi about this after I hang up. And by the way, you aren't allergic to furry animals, are you?" I was fine with bike riding to his house since my dad allowed me to borrow his bicycle for the occasion.

"No..? I've pet Mystery, dude, I'm not allergic to dogs." I replied shortly.

"I've got a hamster too, you know." Arthur informed. "You sure you're not allergic to those?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," I sighed and reassured him, "I'm not allergic to anything. We'll gather at Morton's in an hour, okay?"

I could hear my orange haired friend chuckle on the other side of the cell phone. "That's the plan. You guys don't need to bring anything, obviously, but remember that we're doing this to discuss our ghost hunting plans and the information I found on my house. I found a lot of great stuff and I can't wait to share it with you guys! It'll surely be fun, just don't feel intimidated by my parents. They can seem a little rough. Okay?"

"Okay, and I'll let Vivi know, too. See ya later!"

"Bye!" And the phone hung up.

I went to message Vivi, so I wouldn't forget right away, and rubbed my cheek. The swelling had mostly gone down since the big fight, and all that remained was a light greenish blue bruise under my right eye. The shiner was fairly light though, so it wasn't much of a problem. My parents were quite skeptical when I came home looking kind of beat up, but after explaining the situation to them, they understood what went down and let me go. Since then, we all quickly arranged plans to meet up at Arthur's house and we chose Sunday, today, as the designated date to meet up. It was official- we were finally going to Arthur's house to check out this so called haunting.

I set down my phone and stood in front of the mirror, taking a second to examine my face. My black eye was definitely getting lighter, but other than that, I looked pretty disheveled. My plum purple hair was a wreck, not to mention it being greasy from forgetting to shower the day before. I was also still in my pajamas, a white flannel shirt and fleece sweatpants. Knowing I only had an hour to fix myself up, I quickly picked out some clothes and took them with me to the nearest bathroom. After locking the door behind me, I set my outfit for the day down on the floor, undressed, and hopped in the shower. I didn't realize I forgot to turn the knob to warm water until it was too late and I was hit with a nonstop flow of freezing cold water.

"Shit!" I muttered frustratedly to myself as I mustered up all of my bravery and walked through the ice cold water to turn the knob. I shivered and snatched a bottle of shampoo, slowly relaxing as the water gradually turned warmer and warmer.

I thought about Arthur's house and what he could've possibly found out from the junk laying around in his attic. I thought about the elderly man he described to be the previous owner of the house. I couldn't lay my finger on it, but something seemed familiar about him. I shook my head and informed myself I was wrong before getting back on topic. Arthur was probably going to find some dark history about the house. And since the raspy voice, the smoker, spoke fluent Italian, the house's backstory might have had something to do with the mafia, if his house was possibly that old.

The whole idea of finally seeing Arthur's infamous haunted house seemed somewhat exciting. It felt suspicious, but exciting nonetheless. I got back to the task at hand, which was rinsing a ton of sudsy shampoo out of my hair. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, against my own will. Showers always made me drowsy, which was why I preferred taking them at night so I could just collapse in bed right afterward. Not today though. I was going to have to tough it out, but I'm pretty sure biking on the cold November weather would pick me up again.

Suddenly, the conversation I had with Vivi before the big fight popped into my mind, and I couldn't help but ponder over it. It was kind of surprising that she was color blind. Of course I knew that color blindness affected a great amount of people, but I never met a color blind person before. And not only that, but Vivi had other problems too. I didn't expect she would have nightmare issues, considering she's addicted to anything horror related, but I guess it's different when it becomes a sleeping problem. She seemed perfectly fine when she was around me and Arthur, which was what threw me off a bit. But Vivi told me it was best to leave each other alone about our problems, so I might as well do that.

I turned the knob on the shower all the way to the left until the water stopped running out of the nozzle completely, since I was finally finished. I shivered from the chilly breeze that hit me the second I stepped out of the shower. I quickly wrapped a towel around myself for warmth and snatched my clothes off the floor. After drying off and getting dressed, I proceeded to scurry back to my bedroom to check myself in the mirror, since the one in the bathroom was too fogged up from the shower steam. I glanced in the mirror. I looked cleaner and more presentable now, besides my hair being a black, sopping wet mess. I began to head back to the bathroom to dry my hair when my phone began buzzing furiously. Sighing in annoyance, I picked up my phone and checked the new message from Vivi.

The message read, "Thanks for letting me know :)! I'm actually going to meet up with u at ur house and we'll bike 2 Morton's from there, if that's okay with you. I'll be there in 30 mins, okay?"

"Shit," I muttered to myself in realization. The message was sent twenty-eight minutes ago, which meant Vivi was already almost here and I was nowhere near ready to leave. I frantically dashed back to the bathroom and began combing my hair down, praying it wouldn't get all frizzy and floofy like it usually did after showering and drying my hair. I styled it so my bangs were neatly parted to the left side of my face. I knew it wouldn't stay that way, but it was worth a try. I had just plugged in the blow dryer when the doorbell rang and I cringed as my mother called from the kitchen, telling me to answer it. I reluctantly set down the blow dryer and rushed to get the door, despite my hair being dripping wet.

"Hey Lew, are you ready ye- WHOA what's up with your hair?" Vivi asked curiously as I let her inside. "Did you just take a shower or something?"

I nodded, "Yeah, and I still have to dry this. You don't mind waiting while I fix up my hair, do you?"

"Of course not! It won't take that long, will it? Although, I find it kind of funny that I, the girl, have to wait for you, a macho bara dude, to get his hair ready!" Vivi teased, giggling as she took a seat on the side of the of the couch, notably the side that she didn't bleed on on Halloween. Ah, we were never going to forget that. Or at least I wasn't.

"Alright, I'll be ready in no time, and then we'll leave in no later than ten minutes!" I announced, heading back to the bathroom.

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><p>"Why are you guys so late? It's been twenty minutes!" Arthur exclaimed. He was leaning against the side of Morton's Cafe, next to a rusty bicycle stand, where a pastel yellow bike rested. "I thought you guys ditched me or something!"<p>

"I'm sorry, it just took a little longer than we expected to bike here." I explained, coming to a stop on the curb.

Vivi pulled up from right behind me and mocked in a gruff voice, "I'll fix my hair in no time, we'll leave in ten minutes! I'm not gonna take super long and be a stubborn little ass until my great purple pompadour looks absolutely fabulous!"

"Shut up, Vivi! I had to look presentable, okay!?" I argued, chuckling along with her.

"You down right refused to leave the bathroom until his hair looked absolutely stinkin' perfect! We would have gotten there on time if Lewis here didn't spend so much time messing with his hair!" My ghost fanatic friend scoffed.

"Alright, alright, whatever!" Arthur laughed nervously, running a hand through his gelled, spiky hair. "Now c'mon, let's bike to my place!"

He pulled his bike out of the stand and hopped on, glancing back at Vivi and I. We took off, laughing and making jokes along the way. We rode on the sidewalk, with Arthur in the front, Vivi in the middle, and myself behind them. They were chatting about ghost hunting equipment, of course, and how it worked. I just silently biked behind them, half-listening to what was going on. Arthur told us that the house was only four blocks away, so it would be a very short and quick ride. I couldn't help but recognize the houses around us, even though I hadn't been on this side of town in quite a while. I couldn't recall when I had seen the houses we were zooming past, but the streets gave me a somewhat familiar feeling.

"Have I been down here before?" I asked myself, interrupting Arthur and Vivi's conversation. "I'm sorry, I just feel like I've been around this part of town before."

"Probably," Vivi replied nonchalantly. "It's not that far from your house, no?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I visit this part of town that often. Maybe from when I was younger, I guess. That would explain why I can't recall how I remember this area."

Arthur glanced back at me and cracked a smile, revealing shiny metal braces. "Could be. There are quite a few playgrounds around here. I always see kids lingering around there."

"Ah, since when did you have braces, Arthur?" I asked curiously, surprised I never noticed them before.

"Dude, I've had these since way before we met! I've had them on for like, two years!" My orange haired friend exclaimed. "I'm getting them off in a month, man!"

"Congrats," Vivi chuckled, "I heard braces hurt really badly. Do they?"

"If I told you braces hurt, that would be the understatement of the year! Well, they don't ache all the time, but the first week having them on is absolute hell. You can only have liquids and yes, your teeth are that sensitive from the braces. I was practically dying by the end of that week 'cause I went a whole seven days without a single dorito! A single dorito! But that's not it, you have to go back to the orthodontists, which are like more professional dentists, every few months to have them tightened, and then you have to go through the same crap for another two days! I'll be more than happy to get these off!" Arthur explained defensively.

"Hearing that makes me glad my teeth are straight." I mumbled as we took a turn, following Arthur's lead.

My orange haired friend continued on, going into a detailed rant, "You better be glad! And I didn't even need any oral surgery! My older brother had to get this surgery done in his mouth 'cause a few of his baby teeth wouldn't budge and one adult tooth was derailed. So they cut open his gums and everything, and he said it wasn't that bad. Until you go to get them tightened. He would always tell me these horror stories of having to get his braces tightened with a wire in his gums too. My brother said it was hell! He wouldn't shut up about that whenever I complained about my own braces. So I'm happy it's almost over."

"Okay, we get it!" I put up my hands defensively.

"You make braces sound like metal death traps!" Vivi giggled.

"Because they are!" Arthur hollered, coming to an abrupt stop. "Here we are! Casa de Arthur! Did I say it right, Lewis? Lewis?"

Not bothering to reply and let him know that was the wrong language, I stared at Arthur's house somberly. I knew why that street seemed familiar now. Arthur's house was a surprisingly tiny pastel yellow house with lots of windows, a white cement stairway, and a small porch held up with merely two white pillars. The front yard consisted of two bright green patches of grass, that looked perfectly healthy, even in this chilly weather. But I knew before, it used to be torn up and covered in patches of dry, dead grass. The house seemed crammed and small from the outside, but I already knew it contained more space on the inside.

"Yo! Lewis! Earth to Lewis! You home, dude?" Arthur asked, reaching up to wave his hands in front of my face. "Hey!"

"Stop it!" I demanded, forcing out a laugh. Then I switched to a more serious tone, asking, "You sure this house is the one?"

"What do you mean, 'am I sure?' Of course this is the one! C'mon!" My orange haired friend motioned, leading us to a garage right by the side of the house. We followed along quietly. I felt Vivi's eyes on me as I took in the house with mine. It was hard to hide my surprise.

I flinched when Vivi reached out and tapped me skeptically. "Lew, are you okay? You're acting really strange."

"Nah, I'm fine," I reassured her. "I... I uh... I'm just admiring this lovely pastel yellow here!" I exclaimed falsely, patting the side of the house. She rolled her eyes and began speed-walking, trying to catch up to Arthur. We wheeled our bikes into the cluttered garage and kicked down the bike stands. The garage was fairly large, but covered in junk and various sports equipment. There was enough room for one car to fit in, but the rest was all storage. "When did you guys build this?"

"Right after we moved in. But how did you know we were the ones that built it?" Arthur asked, raising a bushy, dark eyebrow.

"It just looks newer, that's all. Looks pretty sturdy," I remarked anxiously, studying the wooden walls holding the garage up. I heard Vivi cough at my sudden fascination in the garage walls.

"Let's get inside, it's freaking freezing in here!" My orange haired friend exclaimed, shivering in an exaggerated matter.

A blast of warm air hit my face as I opened the door to let Vivi and Arthur inside. Upon entering Arthur's house, I felt a ping of nostalgia hit me as I scanned the family room with my eyes. It was easy to tell the house was really old, so it looked rather awkward with all of the modern furniture sitting around. Leather couches and fancy coffee tables and giant television sets. It felt out of place in my mind. Before I could get a better look at Arthur's infamous house, I was interrupted by a rather short woman with a plastered grin on her face and an intimidating look in her black eyes.

She gathered her mop of curly, dark hair into a loose ponytail and smiled, offering her hand for me to shake. Arthur's mom said eagerly, "Hi, you two must be Arthur's friends! I've heard quite a bit about you two! Ooh, you're so tall! Do you play any basketball by any chance?"

"No, I'm not that into sports," I informed her, hesitantly shaking her hand. It was as cold as ice. Escaping from her firm grip, I added, "I guess I like the same kind of stuff Arthur does, like the paranormal."

The disappointment in her voice was too obvious. "Oh, you're into spooky stuff too... Well, it's nice to meet ya, Vinny!"

"My name's Lewis," I mumbled shyly, my face beginning to heat up a bit too much. I heard Arthur's groaning and Vivi's giggling in the background. Blushing even more, I looked down and began nervously petting Mystery, who was wagging his tail eagerly at my feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear!" she exclaimed, chuckling too, as if she wasn't serious at all. She turned to Vivi and put on the same cheesy grin she had on when talking to me. "And you must be Louisa! Nice to mee-!"

"It's Vivi. Lewis and Vivi." She corrected, taking a step away from Arthur's mom. It was obvious she was uncomfortable having his mom two inches from her face. It bothered me too, but I hadn't done anything about it.

"Okay Mom, that's enough," Arthur announced, chuckling half heartedly. He was definitely anxious to get her away from us. "I'll show you guys around the house really quickly, if you want! The layout of our house is awfully confusing!"

I said the words before I knew what left my lips. "I'm fine, I already know where everything's at. I mean... I'm fine, no thanks!"

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. Vivi and Arthur gave me an awkward stare down for a few seconds before shaking it off.

"Let's just go to my room then." He replied, leading Vivi and I down the sleek, wooden hallway. Mystery slinked behind us. I glanced at the walls as I followed my friends. I saw numerous family photos of Arthur and his family. He really did stick out in the photos, especially with his hair. His mother and brothers both had curly, dark hair and his dad was completely bald, but Arthur stuck out more with his bright yellow spikes and orange sideburns. He was also paler and much scrawnier than anyone else in the picture. It would've been impossible to tell that Arthur was related to those people if it hadn't been for his bushy eyebrows and dark facial hair, along with the two small streaks of dark hair that were also formed into gelled spikes. He was a complete outcast in his own family.

I looked away from the framed photos and turned my attention to Arthur's bedroom. I walked in after Mystery, who dashed in front of me and leaped onto Arthur's twin size bed. "Holy shit," I breathed in sheer awe.

It was impossible to tell what color Arthur's walls were painted because they were completely covered in posters. Anime posters, video game posters, band posters, even posters of athletes. It was beyond impressive that he managed to cover every single wall from the floor to the ceiling in posters. Besides the posters, the only thing that stuck out was an old, massive, worn out curtain attached to the wall, covering up a large corner in Arthur's bedroom.

"Arthur... You're an otaku?" Vivi asked curiously, examining one of his many posters of Bleach, a popular anime series. I didn't hear much about Bleach other than it was extremely and had tons of episodes.

"Yeah," he mumbled shamefully. "I don't like to talk about it with others though. I'm sorry."

"Dude, it's fine!" Vivi assured Arthur, patting him on the back. "I watch a lot of anime, too! And Lewis... We still need to get him hooked, but he knows a lot of shows. You're acting like we'd be angry about it or something!"

I added, "We're just impressed by all of these posters! There's so many! Do you collect them or something?"

"I guess you could say that. I watch tons of anime whenever I'm not tinkering around at my little desk over here." Arthur spoke nervously, running a hand through his hair. He ordered, "Mystery, boy, get the curtain!"

The dog obediently hopped off of his owner's bed and trotted towards the ratty curtain hung up in the corner. He took the fabric in his mouth and pulled back, revealing what appeared to be a messy little workshop with a messy wooden table covered in nuts and bolts and shelves that rested against the bare wall, filled with numerous boxes of tools and other building supplies. Mystery let out a bark, as if he was demanding approval.

"Isn't it nice? I'm kind of surprised my parents even let me put this in here," he paused to switch on the desk lamp resting in the corner of the table. "I have more tools at my uncle's mechanic shop, but I'm not able to go there too often so I just play around here. My mom doesn't like it when I try to work with wood though, so I just build smaller things with it whenever she's not home."

"Sweet..." Vivi spoke in awe, eyeing the shelves and boxes. "Do you know how to make robots?"

"Eh, not really, but I have made a few successful small ones. But they just walk and stuff. Nothing entertaining. I usually help fix cars at my uncle's place and I made a tiny, remote controlled car once. But I have to say I'm the most proud of this." Arthur answered, stopping to make these strange clicking noises with his tongue. Vivi and I exchanged unsure glances.

"What is it?" I asked hesitantly.

Arthur pointed to the ground and said nonchalantly, "You might want to move to the left, Lewis."

I barely stepped aside before a blur of reddish-orange zoomed past my feet, making me flinch. It was heading towards the table. "What the hell was that?" I exclaimed in surprise. It was only then I noticed the tiny, rodent size ramp starting at the floor and spiraling all the way up to one corner of the table, where the ramp lead to the entrance of a tidy rodent habitat cage. The orange furball sped into the cage and crash landed into the bedding. A tiny, cream colored face with dark, beady eyes popped out of the bedding. It was a hamster.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Vivi beamed. The hamster was still mostly burrowed in the bedding. It had a cream colored face and stomach, and the rest of its body was a reddish-orange color.

"He," Arthur corrected. "This is Galaham, my hamster. Well, it's Galahad, but Galaham sounds friendlier so we stick with that. Plus it's got 'ham' in it, as in 'ham'ster. Get it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah, we understand. You mentioned earlier over the phone that you had a hamster."

"Uh huh, but he's not an ordinary hamster, I guess. You can't see them right now, since he's hiding himself in his bedding, but he's got prosthetic back limbs that I made myself. I got Galaham quite a few months ago when he was a tiny little thing, but his lower half was totally paralyzed since birth, so I figured out how to make these wheels that allow him to move. With the help of my uncle, of course." My orange haired friend explained.

"You're kidding, let me see!" Vivi remarked, trying to get a better view of Arthur's hamster.

I told her, "Calm down, I think he's asleep. Now wouldn't be a good time to disturb him."

The hamster was in fact, asleep. I didn't see how it was possible to go from zooming around the room from one minute, to exhausted the next. But then again, I wasn't exactly the hamster expert so I wasn't exactly one to talk. Arthur sighed and turned around to grab a large, blue towel from the shelf, which he then threw over the caged habitat.

"Huh, I guess so." Arthur sighed. "Oh well, I'll show you the wicked wheels I made for him later. As for now… Well we still gotta go over the house history and ghost hunting plans and all of that, but first we need to have some fun! Who wants to play Smash Bros?"

No words needed to be said as we all exchanged longing glances for just a moment, and then raced towards the television and the gaming console in the other corner of Arthur's room. I grinned and happily took a controller, trying my hardest to put my memories behind me and have some fun with my new friends.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Yo guys, I apologize for the inconvenience dealing with taking a hell of a long time to get this chapter up. I took an unannounced holiday break, and my family kept dragging me away from my laptop the whole two weeks. Also, my sleeping schedule got seriously thrown off and I was out of whack for a few days. But have no fear, school is near! Wait, no, that's a bad thing XD I'm not looking forward to going back to school tomorrow, but hopefully it'll freshen up my mind a bit and I'll get back on track! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my latest chapter and I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye bye! And don't forget to review!)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19- A Sense of Familiarness**

**Disclaimer: I've said it a thousand times, I might as well say it a thousand more. I don't own these characters because they belong to MysteryBen27 and company. I merely own my ideas, my laptop, and a fanfiction account. NOW ENJOY THE STORY.**

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><p>"You... You fridge magnet!" Vivi screamed at Arthur, practically throwing down her controller as he delivered the final blow to Vivi's pick, Luigi. Arthur and I laughed hysterically at our blue haired friend's sore loser behavior.<p>

"I told you, nobody beats the KING of Super Smash Brothers!" Arthur exclaimed, puffing out his chest in pride. "I am unstoppable!"

"We'll see about that!" I declared as I picked up my controller and we reselected our characters. I directed the joystick towards Jigglypuff and pressed 'A.' "Just watch me!"

Arthur scoffed as he changed Megaman's blue colors to orange. "You think you can possibly beat me with Jigglypuff!? You're asking for a death wish, dude!"

I rolled my eyes playfully and watched Vivi's cursor hover over Greninja. "Vivi, how come you only pick Luigi and Greninja? You gotta switch it up every now and then, man!"

"Oh really? You're so judgy!" Vivi grinned rather deviously as she moved straight towards the Villager and selected it. She snickered at our terrified expressions, "I'm switching it up, just like you wanted!"

Arthur groaned, "God Vivi, not the killager! Look what you did, Lewis! She picked the killager!"

"Man, I didn't think that's what she had in mind!" I argued back.

My blue haired friend laughed in a menacing manner, soaking up all of our despair. "It's already too late! Prepare to die!" She was also chosen to pick the stage. The pit in my stomach sank even deeper as she selected Morfair from the game Metroid. I was very bad at keeping my balance on stages, so this was the perfect stage for me to die on.

"God, could you do further torture to us?" I asked sarcastically.

Arthur shook his head and snatched his controller from the ground next to him as the brawl began. "Lewis, I am so going to kick your ass!"

I ignored my friends' taunting as I sprung into action. My main focus was getting my biggest issue out of the way, which was Arthur. Seeing as he practically murdered me during the last round, I would have to take action quick. He also knew that once I fell off the main platform, it would be a great struggle for me to climb back on, and I would usually end up falling to my death. It would be even more difficult with such a complicated stage.

Vivi was already taking care of Arthur though, and by that, I meant she was lashing out at him whenever it was possible. She was so focused on killing Arthur that she didn't even notice me stealthily sneaking up behind her. Now was my chance to strike. I tried to launch my attack, but Arthur got in the way and blasted me with a beam of light before I could bring any damage upon Vivi. I fought back and managed to inflict some damage to him, but he had the upper hand and was able to kick me right off the main platform.

"Damn it, Arthur!" I exclaimed, hopping back up on the platform. "You almost had me there!"

My orange haired friend grinned, and in one swift move, launched me straight off the platform again, this time it was no help trying to jump back on. I was a goner. Arthur snickered at his own success. "You sure about that?"

I groaned in frustration and continued playing. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

We continued playing and playing and playing. The game was so thick with tension that you probably couldn't cut through it with a knife. We all played silently, shouting with anticipation whenever something big happened. We practically whooped and hollered when I delivered the final blow to Vivi's character, sending the killager off into oblivion for eternity. She whooped with us, keepig her cool and claiming she 'wasn't used to that character' as a reason why I beat her. Then, it was just Arthur and I. It had been at least ten minutes since we defeated the killager and the whole bedroom was dead silent. Even Mystery stayed quiet for the final brawl. We were both on our last lives, but my percentage was higher than Arthur's, meaning I was quite a bit closer to death. The stakes were super tight.

"C'mon Arthur, you can do it!" Vivi whispered excitedly. "He's already on his last life! At seventy-three percent!"

I could've responded, but I was too deep in the game to care. I shushed my blue haired friend and we continued playing in silence. Then that's when it happened. The screen blinked and the smash ball appeared, floating around the screen as if it was taunting Arthur and I. Both of our characters went after the ball, but Arthur kicked me out of the way, sending me all the way to another platform. He then managed to hit the ball twice before it flew far away from him.

Practically holding my breath, I went after the ball, but it kept evading my attacks. Arthur took that as a chance to kick the ball a third time, which still didn't break it. I let out a sigh of relief, but quickly tensed up again as the ball floated in my general direction. I dashed after it urgently.

"Arthur, get the ball! Get it!" Vivi gasped. It was obvious who she was rooting for.

We both chased after the rainbow colored ball, but I reached it just before Arthur could and pressed the button down as hard as I could, kicking the ball and smashing it into a million pieces. Everyone began whooping and hollering, and barking in Mystery's case, as Jigglypuff was surrounded by a rainbow aura. The pink and fluffy pokemon swelled up until it was at least ten times larger than its' original size. My orange haired friend tried to get away but it was too late, as I barely touched him, and sent him flying into oblivion.

I stood up from the ground in the chair and cheered happily, holding up the controller as if it was a trophy. "I win!"

"Wow, just wow," Arthur muttered in awe. "That was a great game. I can't believe you beat me, the king of Smash Bros!"

Vivi let out a sigh of relief and practically collapsed on the carpeted floor. "That was super tense and I wasn't even alive for the majority of the game!"

"Man, that was awesome!" I exclaimed. "I didn't think I was that good!"

"I still can't believe I lost! And you don't even play video games that often! So, are we gonna play another round, or should we take a break?" Arthur asked, scratching his goatee.

"Totally! I have to beat you guys, you know!" Vivi exclaimed rather forcefully.

"I guess we can play another round of two-" A loud thud on Arthur's door stopped my sentence before I could finish it. We went silent and expected Arthur's mother to burst in, but the door never opened. We waited for what seemed like a whole minute, but nothing happened. I tried to continue, "Like I was saying, we could play a few more-."

The door squeaked open Arthur's mom poked her head in. "Hi there, sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering, are any of you guys hungry?"

Vivi's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of food. "You read my mind!" She exclaimed, beaming. "I could totally use something to eat!"

I ignored the looks of confusion my orange haired friend was giving me and answered, "Thanks for asking, Mrs. Minkin, but I'm fine."

"Alright, there's some snacks in the cabinets, so when you're hungry, feel free to help yourself to that. Arthur'll show you where everything's at." His mom informed us, turning to leave the bedroom quietly.

"W-wait, Mom? Did you knock my d-door at all before coming in?" Arthur inquired, stuttering just a little bit.

The woman's face changed from cheerful and giddy to disappointed at the drop of a hat. Putting her hands on her hips, she responded coldly, "Arthur, I am your mother, I don't have to have an invitation in order to enter your room. You really want to start this right now?"

"N-n-no, that's not what I m-meant!" My misunderstood friend raised his hands up in defense. "I w-was just asking if you were the one w-who knocked on the d-door!"

"No, I wasn't. You must have been hearing things. Now," his mom's tone instantly switched back to the cheery one she used with Vivi and I, "I'll let you three have your fun! Let me know if you need anything!"

And with that, Arthur's mom shut the door. I waited for a second to make sure she was truly gone before commenting, "No offense Arthur, but your mom seems like a terrifying person."

Before my friend could say anything, Vivi practically shot up in the air, chanting, "Guys! Guys! Guys! Do you guys even realized what just happened!?"

Arthur and I exchanged exhausted glances and turned back to our eager blue haired friend, who couldn't stop bouncing up and down with excitement. "Paranormal activity just happened right before our eyes! A ghost knocked on that door! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

"Calm down, Vivi!" I chuckled. Facing Arthur, I asked, "Does that happen often? The door knocking?"

He stopped to think for a moment before replying, "Not really. I recall it happening maybe once or twice, but I always assumed it was my brothers trying to screw with me. Y'know, when they're home, that is. I do hear things occasionally though, but I don't know if that's actually from the whole haunting thing going on. But whatever lives here with us does not like us. Stuff always gets misplaced and it's all total chaos."

"Strange…" My blue haired friend muttered, stroking her chin as she pondered over Arthur's words. "Say, how about we discuss this over some food? Ever since your mom mentioned snacks, I can't seem to stop thinking about food!"

"Sounds good to me. How about you, Lewis? You said you weren't that hungry." Arthur gazed at me intently.

"Um, I guess I could eat something." I said, my cheeks turning a light red. I suggested, "And after that we could look at the house history stuff you mentioned."

My friends nodded in approval and we headed to the kitchen. They were chatting away about the door incident while I walked behind them, half listening. I wanted to get to the kitchen as fast as possible, because the hallway made me feel very uncomfortable, as if someone was watching me from behind. I knew no one was there, but I couldn't help but feel tense. And not just because of the troubling familiarness of the house.

When we reached the kitchen, I let out a sigh of relief as I fit into a chair next to the small granite booth in the kitchen. The chair was a bit small, but I couldn't care less. I was just happy to get out of that hallway. I watched as Arthur and Vivi shuffled over to the whole wall of wooden cabinets to find whichever one had snacks in it. I cracked a smile.

At least Arthur's family kept one thing the same.

"You guys have strawberries!? Woo!" Vivi cheered, beaming as she held up the bag of fresh strawberries into the air victoriously.

"What's up with you and strawberries?" I asked, stifling a laugh.

She shrugged, "What's not to like about strawberries?"

I sighed contently and turned my attention to Mystery, who kept nudging the cabinet on the bottom right corner with his tiny, black dog nose. Arthur rolled his eyes and asked him, "What, you want some snacks too?" The dog let out a bark in response. "Here," my friend said, kneeling down to open the cabinet and grab a plastic bag filled with dog treats. "You guys wanna see Mystery do some tricks?"

Vivi agreed excitedly and I shrugged, saying, "Why not?" Arthur started out with simple commands, like getting Mystery to sit, stay, heel. The usual. But they slowly began moving to more advanced tricks, like rolling over, standing on two feet, and other various tricks. My blue haired friend would marvel at every single thing the dog did, while I just sat back, watching them go through their process.

"Your dog is so cool!" she exclaimed fascinatedly. "I had a dog once but he died when I was little and he was really boring and ancient."

Arthur grinned sheepishly at the compliment. "T-thanks," he stammered, "Mystery's already really smart on his own, I guess. He can even grab different things with his mouth. A while back he learned how to open cabinet doors and doors to our rooms. But it got to be troublesome, since he was able to get into so many cabinets. Even the ones way up high! So we switched all of the door handles to knobs, so he wouldn't be able to get it open. We left the handle on my door there, since I guess I'm his favorite and he likes being around me all the time."

"Really? I never noticed that…" I commented, studying the wall of cabinets.

"Yeah, he's too smart for his own good! I'm even trying to teach him to follow written commands by holding up index cards and stuff! But he only knows sit, shake, and lie down so far." My orange haired friend added.

"That's amazing! How can a dog be that smart?" Vivi blurted out as she popped a strawberry into her mouth. "You sure he's a dog and not secretly a human, Arthur?"

"Of course not, that's ridiculous!" He bellowed, chuckling at Vivi's assumption. They continued conversing about Mystery's intelligence while I glanced around the kitchen, letting my mind float astray. I wondered about how I hadn't noticed it before. Then again, Arthur's house was barely recognizable in my memories. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was just thinking about the wrong place. Maybe the house just had a somewhat similar structure to the one I was thinking of…

_"Lewis…"_

I whipped around and peered over my shoulder, looking into the long hallway. No one. Nothing. I shook my head and turned back to my friends. They were too busy snacking on strawberries and petting Mystery to notice. Then again, they could've been the ones calling me. "Hey guys? Did you guys call me?"

"Uh…. No? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked, scratching his head. "We were just having a conversation about Mystery."

"Ah. Well never mind." I replied, shivering just a little. "I must've heard something. Actually… I have to go use the restroom!"

"U-uh, do you need me to help you find it? Like I said, the layout of this house is kind of confusing to some." Arthur stood up from his seat.

"No thanks, I'm fine. I think I know where it is," I told him, and with that, I took off.

• • •

I vigorously scrubbed my face with sink water. The cold water somehow seemed to help me relax a little. I heard talking outside of the door and I figured it was Arthur and Vivi. They were probably waiting for me. I glanced in the mirror, only to have the same violet eyes staring back at me. I didn't know what I expected other than my own reflection. I shook my head and turned off the tap.

I was being ridiculous and I knew it. All because of that stupid house.

After drying off my hands, I whipped open the door and scoured the hallway for Vivi and Arthur. They weren't in the hallway at all. They must have gone back to Arthur's room. I let out an exhausted sigh as I shuffled down the hallway, once again glancing at pictures hanging up on the wall as I passed by them.

Behind one of the doors, I heard a rather faint, _"Lewis! Come here!"_ which confirmed that they were definitely in there.

I swung open the door and walked inside, only to find a completely different room. It was the typical office, with a large wooden desk, tons of cabinets and papers everywhere, and a large, black computer sitting in the center of the mess. I was tempted to sit in the rotating computer chair, but this wasn't my house, so I couldn't.

"Arthur! Vivi! Where are you guys at?" I hollered, sticking my head back out into the hallway.

The door next to my right opened and Vivi called back, "In here, silly! What are you in there for?"

"Nothing," I sighed. "I thought I heard you guys in there, that's all."

The look in her eyes practically screamed confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know, I just heard something." I followed her back into Arthur's room and carefully took a seat on his bed, which had a dusty cardboard box placed on it. "What's this?"

Ignoring my question, Arthur opened up the box and began digging through it, placing papers and papers everywhere. They all looked fairly old, with slightly faded words and fragile texture. The papers could probably rip if you weren't very careful handling them.

Only after pulling out a few documents and other relics, Arthur spoke. "You know how I said Mystery and I found some history on the house earlier? Well, this is it. A lot of it was just irrelevant junk, but I managed to fish out a good handful of papers and other good pieces of info. Before I show you this stuff, can you guys help me put all of this crap away first?"

We both agreed and helped our orange haired friend put all of the useless papers back into the cardboard box, while Mystery just sat back and watched. "Now check this out," Arthur told us. "We found a lot of good stuff about the first three previous owners, and it gives me a bit of an idea of who could be haunting this place."

He handed Vivi and I an old, wrinkled up sheet that appeared to look like some sort of house deed, along with a tiny photograph. I took one look at the photo and recoiled from it, a sick feeling rising in my stomach.

"Oh god," I muttered. "You can't be serious…"

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><p><strong>(AN: Alright, three things. One, THANK YOU FOR FORTY REVIEWS! Holy shit, I never thought it would get this far! So thank you! Two, the next chapter is also already halfway done. I had to cut it off because issues. So there you have it, a cliffhanger xD You guys must be going crazy right now... *deep sigh* And three, I'm dedicating this to my awesome grandfather, who just got married last night. I wasn't there in person, so why not dedicate a chapter of fanfiction to him? Man, I'm weird. Oh well, hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I'll see YOU in the next chapter! Bye bye!)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20- A Remorseful Confession**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own MSA Ghost, that belongs to MysteryBen27 and company. Also, did y'all see the new profile!? *shrieks***

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><p>I stared at the photograph open-mouthed as Arthur began, "So the most recent owners of this house, before us, were this little old couple. Says here their names are Matthew and Edna, but the last names are a bit too smudged. It looks like some Italian name. The documents here state that they had been living here for about twenty-three years. There's no crazy dark past related to them, but apparently, the old lady living here went kind of nuts and kicked the bucket a few years back. That's probably why her husband sold the place to us. It also says she passed away in the house, which is something to keep note of."<p>

I could feel my stomach twisting more and more as Arthur spoke. I was so glad I didn't eat anything while we were in the kitchen because I would have probably thrown up. I tried to change the subject, asking hesitantly, "How about the second previous owners?"

To my despair, they didn't listen to me. "That's depressing, they look so cute!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing to the photograph. It was hard not to look at the two, wrinkly, smiling faces in the picture. The elderly man stood tall, wearing a bright grin on his face. His dark hair was swept back with a little bit of hair gel. Meanwhile, his wife was beaming as well, but the gleam in her dark violet eyes revealed the intimidating nature behind her happiness. Her bushy hair was barely held back by one, tiny barrette.

"It must have been terrible for the poor old guy. I wonder what he's doing now? If he's alive, that is." Vivi commented.

I laughed half-heartedly, "Yeah, I wonder where he cold be now!"

"Anyway," Arthur continued, "I think it's safe to say the elderly lady, Edna, could be our ghost, but we still have more to get through. Before these guys, the house was abandoned for fifteen years, and for good reason. It says here a young woman named Julia Sanchez took her life in this house. In the attic. She had a great history of depression, it says here, but apparently her husband leaving her most likely drove her to death."

He passed us the document for us to see. Vivi and I examined it briefly. Julia had only been living in the house for a little over a year before her death. "Arthur, it also says that another family lived in the house before her."

"Yeah, I know. But they only lived there for about three years before moving out. Plus there was no dark history behind them, so it didn't seem that important to mention." My orange haired friend explained. He then pulled out another two documents and handed them to us.

"What's this?" I asked curiously, pointing at one of the papers.

"Well, the first guy who lived here, Claude Wolfsfeld, only lived at this place very briefly but he was a very shady man. There's some stuff here about him having a bit of a criminal record, but that was way before he bought this house. Even then, neighbors complained about him doing shady activity around the town and at his own house. One thing here says he was a heavy smoker, just like our attic ghost." Arthur informed, raising his eyebrows.

"Whoa, we already have quite a few possible ghosts living here. Although I'm pretty sure either Julia or this Edna person are living here, since they actually died here." Vivi said, shaking her head.

"You should try looking up that guy. Maybe there'll be more information online." I remarked. "I think we already have enough info on the elderly couple, though. Plus we don't know what their last names, either."

Arthur nodded in approval, "Great suggestion, dude. And oh, I almost forgot!"

He took a small pile of pictures from his side and spread them out in front of us. "I found more pictures just yesterday! I think most of them are of the old couple and their family, but there's also a few of that Julia person." He added.

I glanced at the few black and white photos first. All of them were of a very cheerful looking blonde girl. Seeing how happy her expressions were, it was hard to believe she was ever sad. They were all of her alone, no friends or relatives. I found this sort of strange, but moved on anyway.

"Man, I can't help but feel bad for the old couple, look at this!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing at one photo in particular. "They had a huge family, too!"

"Oh my god," I muttered to myself, my face burning a bright red. "They left that picture here!?"

The picture was at a party, and it was easy to tell with all of the people in the background. The people in front, including the elderly couple all appeared to be laughing at a little toddler in the front, who was twirling in a flowery pink dress. The little girl had a messy mop of light purple hair and a huge grin on her face. Arthur and Vivi kept making comments on how cute she was. Except I knew that 'she' was really a he who didn't know what he was getting into.

"Let me see that!" I shouted, snatching the photo from them and carefully stashing it in my pocket. My face was beet red. They both gave me skeptical glances. "U-uh, I just need it. I might be able to figure out something from this…"

"If you could figure out their last names, that would be great." Arthur sighed. "So maybe after you guys leave, I'll do a bit of internet research on Mr. Claude Wolfsfeld and see what I can find. Lewis, you try to figure something out about that old couple and Vivi….. I don't know, just wait until we get more info, I guess."

"Oh, alright!" Vivi said wistfully, adding, "Hey, isn't that your hamster running around on the floor?"

Arthur's pet hamster, Galaham, was in fact zooming all over the room, going as fast as his wheels could carry him. He really did have tiny, robotic wheels for back legs. And they made him go fast! I couldn't help but feel impressed towards Arthur since he could actually achieve making amazing things like that.

"Whoa, look at him go!" Vivi giggled. She bent down and placed her hand on the floor, her palm facing upward. She clicked her tongue a few times as an attempt to beckon the hamster. The orange blur zoomed into her hand and glanced up at her with big black eyes. Studying Galaham's wheels, she marveled, "Man Arthur, his wheels look like they were made by someone professional.. This is amazing…"

"T-thanks! The original wheels I made for him were very different from those." Arthur explained, feeding our fascination over Galaham's prosthetic wheels. "The original wheels were actually kinda crappy, but I had to focus on making sure they worked first. Then, I studied his movement to see what had to be improved and what was already good. I just made some adjustments here and there, so he can move around smoothly and comfortably."

"That's pure genius right there.." I remarked. "How did you even manage to connect Galaham's nerves to that thing?"

Arthur admitted, scratching his head, "It's really complicated. I had my uncle Lance help me a little bit with that part. He owns a car shop and is an even better mechanic than I am, so yeah. I'm actually planning to start working there with him in the beginning of next year, so that'll prove to be interesting."

"Cool, I don't know what kind of job I'd get if the ghost thing didn't work out, but at least you have things sorted out." Vivi said rather somberly, stroking Galaham's fluffy orange fur.

"Can I hold him?" I asked nervously, cupping my hands and holding them out towards the hamster.

"Sure, you can totally…" My blue haired friend's voice trailed off as the hamster gave me a look as if to say, "You wish," and curled up in her hands, promptly falling asleep.

I chuckled in response, "I don't know if I'm not a big fan of animals or if they just don't like me!"

"Probably both," Vivi snickered. "C'mon Gally, go give Lewis some love!"

The hamster disobeyed her and sped off towards Arthur, settling down right next to him. He scrunched up his nose. "Gally? Why would you give a nickname like that to such an awesome pet name?"

"Awesome? Galahad sounds like some kind of…. Eighteenth century name! It had to be shortened!" She retorted, getting a small chuckle out of me.

"Galaham is a unique name! It's based off of the character Galahad, from Arthurian legends, excuse you!" Arthur shouted back.

Mystery hopped up on the bed and sat down next to me as the two argued, laughing at their own words. I stood up to allow the dog space and eyed the desk chair over in Arthur's workshop office. I can just bring that over here, I thought. But I barely took one step and immediately slipped, hearing a dull thud and a sudden pain in the back of my head.

"Oof," I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. I had tripped on nothing and bumped my head on the wall.

"Lewis, are you okay?" Arthur asked urgently, instantly getting off the bed to help me stand up.

Vivi rolled her eyes at Arthur's concern and said, "Oh stop being so dramatic, it's not like he lost a limb or something! He'll be fine! You're fine, right Lew?"

"Yeah," I said, standing up. I noticed a fallen anime poster and pointed it out to Arthur, saying, "Is that one of your posters on the ground?"

My orange haired friend nodded and picked up the poster. Vivi stared at the blank spot on the wall where the poster fell from and asked, "Is that a dent in the wall?"

I immediately studied the wall, hoping what she said wasn't true, but to my shock, it was. It was still there. The fist sized dent was still there, even now. "Uh huh," Arthur scratched his head and began to explain, "That dent has been there since I moved in and my parents never bothered to fix it, so I just started putting posters over it. Right now this poster, my Full Metal Alchemist one, would be up there because it's my favorite anime. Say, we should watch a few episodes today….. Lewis? What's wrong?"

My face must have shown some sort of grief because both Arthur and Vivi were watching me with troubled expressions. There was no denying it now. I had to tell them.

I sat at the side of the bed, covering my reddening face with my large, tan hands. "I made that dent with a baseball bat when I was seven."

"What the heck are you talking about? You sound like you're confessing to murder or something!" Vivi chuckled, acting as if I was trying to crack a joke.

"Yeah dude, that's impossible! You've never even b-been to th-this house before…. R-right..?" Arthur asked, his tone gradually changing from playful to anxious as he spoke.

I tried to talk, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but the lump forming in my throat was stopping me from providing a decent explanation. But I managed to choke out, "This used to be the guest room… I shared it with my twin cousins, Alfonso and Antonio.. One day we came up with the brilliant idea to play baseball inside of the house instead of outside since it was raining, and when it was my turn to bat, I swung the metal bat right into the wall."

Arthur just stared at me with his bushy brown eyebrows raised in confusion, while Vivi was glancing at me, then some photos from the cardboard box, and then back at me again. She was putting the pieces together. "Lewis? What are you talking about?" She questioned, her bright blue eyes wide with concern.

I pointed at the dent in the wall and told them, "I made this dent in the wall, back when this was still my grandmother's house."

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><p>"What!? You best be joking!" My orange haired friend exclaimed, shouting the words so loud it made Mystery flinch.<p>

I opened my mouth again to explain it, but Vivi got to that before I could even speak. "It all makes sense!" she hollered rather frustratedly. "Remember the story he told us about her house? The little yellow house with the attic ghost! It all fits! Plus he's been acting nothing but strange ever since we got here! I mean, look at him! He's hearing ghosts, getting sucked up by the house! It all makes sense!"

"Oh shit," Arthur muttered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess. I could barely look at those photos you found, though." I mumbled quietly.

"Wow, I should have seen it! You have her face, Lewis! I'm sorry, but it's kind of true. So that's where your big nose comes from!" Vivi teased lightly as an attempt to cheer me up.

"Hey!" I laughed half-heartedly. I already knew how much I looked like my grandmother. I had been told that by several people. I had her eyes, I had her nose, I had her bad luck with hair, all of that.

"I knew the second I entered your house," I confessed, letting out a deep sigh. "Your room used to be the guest room. It took me a while for me to actually believe that this was the house, since you guys added so much renovations and such. Plus I only went there every few months when I was really little and the last time I was at her house, I was twelve and…. Well."

"Whoa… I don't mean to be rude, but does that mean your grandma can still be the ghost haunting the house? And is your grandpa alive? Maybe you can talk to him about this stuff. Well, if you're comfortable with it, that is. I'm not trying to force you into anything." Arthur commented, petting Mystery gently while he was at it.

"I-I don't know if she's here or not, but whatever that thing in the attic is, it's definitely not my grandmother, no matter how aggressive she was." I told him remorsefully.

Vivi patted my back and exhaled, "Wow… This is all such a weird coincidence. I don't mean to be rude either, but can I see that picture again? The one you stuffed in your pocket?"

I nodded and fished the tiny photograph out of my pocket, handing it to her quickly, so I wouldn't have a chance to glance at it. The memories were gradually getting stronger. My blue haired friend let out a tiny gasp and shoved the picture back in my face, pointing to the little 'girl' in the picture. "Oh my gosh, is this you!?"

I nodded, and before I even knew it, I was telling them everything I knew about that picture. About how my distant cousin snapped the photo of me in a dress "for laughs." It was at an Easter celebration at my grandmother's house…. Well, Arthur's house. I was to young to really care about that as a toddler, and I wouldn't even care now whether I wore a dress or not now, but my whole family loved mocking me about it as a child. 'Little Lewis in a dress,' was always a reoccurring joke at holiday gatherings. And I didn't see any reason to be offended about it then, but it still bothered me nonetheless, since I was a sensitive child.

I also couldn't help but think about that day in general. I couldn't remember it too well, but I could easily recall all of the happiness and smiling… And how everyone was alive and well… And I wasn't intimidated by my own grandmother… Before everything went to shit.

My thoughts were interrupted by a tissue being waved in my face by Arthur, who had a solemn expression on his face. It was only then I realized that there were tears rolling down my cheeks. It was funny, I thought, I didn't even feel like crying, yet I was.

I snatched the tissue and began wiping my face, which was beginning to grow warm from the intimidating stares from my friends. "I'm fine," I tried to reassure them. "Just thoughts, that's all."

"We'll f-f-focus on something else if you'd like…." Arthur mumbled nervously. "Y-you wanna watch some Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood? That's my favorite anime, y-you know!"

"What's it about?" I asked, trying not to sniffle as I finished wiping my face dry of tears. Arthur pulled out a drawer in the TV stand and scoured inside it until he pulled out a DVD with anime characters on the case.

He pointed to the tin robot and the short feminine boy with the most intimidating stare an animated character could possibly have on his face. He explained, "These two are brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. They're both child alchemists, but once they performed human transmutation wrong and Ed lost some limbs, Al lost his body, and their mom lost her life. Al got a new robotic body and Ed got a prosthetic leg and arm, both made of metal. So they joined the military to gain certain alchemic privileges back so they can get Al's soul back into his body. It basically goes off of that."

"I heard everyone's watching it!" Vivi added enthusiastically. "Let's totally watch some!"

Arthur and I agreed and Mystery let out a yip of approval. "I'm sure you guys'll like it… Hopefully. We can watch as many episodes as you want before dinner, just to let you know."

"How long are the episodes?" I asked hesitantly.

"All of them are about twenty-two minutes long," My orange haired friend replied curtly.

Vivi rolled her eyes and demanded impatiently, "Just put in the DVD already!"

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><p>We were seven episodes in (which took about two hours and twenty minutes) when the door burst open and in came tumbling Arthur's brother, a young middle-schooler with a mop of greasy, dark brown hair. "ARTHUR!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, even though we were right next to him. "STOP WATCHING CARTOONS AND COME FOR DINNER- Whoa! Who are you guys!? And what's up with your hair?"<p>

Arthur let out an annoyed sigh and told him, "They're just my friends, Travis. Didn't Mom tell you they were coming over today?"

The boy's eyes lit up in realization. "Ohhhh right! Vinny and Louisa, right?"

I shook my head and replied, "Lewis and Vivi, but you were close enough."

"Whatever, Mom wants y'all in the kitchen anyway. It was your turn to set the table today, but I had to do it, so you better thank me!" Travis informed us, rolling his eyes at Arthur.

We all stood up and began to walk out of the room, with Arthur's little brother staring me down as we all shuffled down the hallway. "You're a giant…." He mumbled blankly in awe.

"Tell me about it, kid," I shook my head as we entered the kitchen. Three other individuals were sitting at the booth in the center of the room, one of them being Arthur's mom. The other two were Arthur's dad and older brother, a burly bald man and a muscly boy with the same mop of hair as Arthur's other brother. They both looked just as intimidating as Arthur's mother.

On the table were seven plates, each with two sloppy-joe sandwiches and a side of green beans. I certainly wasn't a fan of sloppy-joes, but I had to be polite and eat it since I was at a guests' house. Arthur reluctantly took a seat next to his mother, just so we wouldn't have to. I plopped in a seat next to him and Vivi sat on my other side.

Arthur's brother caught my attention when he blurted out, "Holy crap, you're tall! And I thought Artie's friends would be just as small and scrawny as him!"

"Cole! Watch your language!" Arthur's mom exclaimed angrily, swatting at him. "We have guests!"

My face began to redden at the awkward tension beginning to soak up in the kitchen. Vivi snickered at my bashfulness, only making me blush even harder. Then she went back to sucking up her food like a vacuum cleaner. I picked at my green beans, eating them slowly just because everyone was staring at me, given the exception of Arthur and Vivi. I hated being stared at so intensely while I was eating.

I hesitantly took a bite out of my sandwich as Arthur's dad began to talk. "So you're Arthur's friends, huh? What're your names?" He asked in a startlingly gruff voice, practically making me jump.

"Vivi, I'm Vivi." My blue haired friend answered through the food in her mouth. "And that's Lewis."

"Lewis, eh? How tall are you? You play any basketball?" His dad asked, squinting at me skeptically. Mystery snuck up behind me and began nudging my elbow, eager for a taste of my food.

I quickly swallowed my food and mumbled shyly, "Six foot three…. And no, I don't play any sports."

"You don't? Man, besides Artie here, I don't think I've ever known a guy who wasn't into sports! You'd be great for basketball!" He sighed longingly, as if he was trying to convince me right on the spot to sign up for a sports team of some kind.

I shook my head and said quietly, "I'm just not a fan of that kind of stuff, I don't know."

Vivi shoved her plate away from her, patting her stomach with a satisfied grin on her face. "Why waste time on sports and athletics when you've got ghosts to hunt?"

"Ghosts? Cool!" Travis exclaimed cheerfully. Arthur's mom lightly smacked his hand and gave him what I'm pretty sure was a death glare.

"Ghosts are not real, at least in my book." She replied coldly. "I think people deciding to spend their lives chasing them down are absolutely ridiculous, but then again, they're the ones who can decide on whether they want to ruin their own lives or not. It's not in my power to stop them."

I put my hand on Vivi's shoulder to keep her from lunging at Arthur's mom, but instead, she just scoffed, "Well you don't have any proof that ghosts don't exist, do you?"

The infuriation was still instilled in Arthur's mom's eyes as she retorted, "Well, you don't have any proof ghosts DO exist, do you now, hm?"

"Actually, I have a ton of proof right here-" Vivi began, ready to start a full-on debate. Her blue eyes flared with that spark of determination and anger like they always did when she was irritated.

"Huh, I guess this one will remain a mystery then!" Arthur interrupted the fuming ladies, chuckling anxiously. He then leaned closer towards the two of us and whispered, "Vivi, calm down! You don't want to start something with them, okay?"

Vivi shook her head and scowled, obviously upset about being ridiculed about her biggest obsession. I put my hand back on her shoulder and gave her an intent look, hoping she would understand and back off. But the second I touched her she flinched and turned her head away from me. I swore I saw her pale face flush, but I didn't say anything.

"Ah crap, I forgot!" Cole exclaimed, studying at his phone. "That football game for tomorrow got switched to today and I have to be there in half an hour!"

"What!?" Both of Arthur's parents shouted in unison. His mom glared at him and then turned her head towards us, saying, "I'm sorry, do you two have phones? Arthur's father and I have to get to this game, and we obviously can't leave you here alone, so you'll have to go home very soon. Now would be good. So could you two be dears and call your parents to pick you up please?"

Arthur threw his hands up in the air, arguing, "But Mom! We're still eating! Can't you just stay home and let us hang out for a little while longer!? Please?"

"Arthur," she literally growled, "This is not about you! Your brother has a game, and you know how important his games are! Now you help your friends contact their parents right now OR ELSE!"

"F-f-fine," he mumbled sheepishly, staring at the floor. "C'mon g-guys…."

We reluctantly retreated back to Arthur's bedroom, where we were immediately forced to call our parents and ask for rides home. I felt even more uncomfortable with having to tell my mom where Arthur lived. She would definitely comment about it being my grandmother's old house. Within twelve minutes of scrambling around, Vivi was picked up by her mother and then mine showed up. I kind of wished I took the car myself, so I wouldn't have to deal with being confronted about it. I knew how to drive, so I could've done it myself.

As my mom showed up, I had no time to say any real goodbyes to Arthur, as they were leaving the second she pulled in their driveway. All he told me before I was practically shoved out the door was, "Don't forget to ask your grandpa about the house!"

Then I was forced out into the cold.

I rushed over to my mom's whirring car, hopping in the passengers seat as fast as I could. I shivered as I buckled the seatbelt and we sped off. Leaving Arthur's house felt far too rushed, and it left me unsatisfied.

"How was Arthur's, honey?" My mom asked, flashing a small smile.

"It was fun," I sighed exhaustedly, yawning.

"Tired, aren't you?" she laughed. Then, her tone switched to a more serious one. "You know, that was your _nonna's_ house, right?"

"Yeah I know…." I muttered solemnly.

She patted my back sympathetically, brushing a strand of wavy purple hair out of her face. "Are you okay, Lewis?"

"I miss _Nonna_…" I confided in her, my voice wavering slightly. "But yeah, I'll be fine."

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><p><strong>(AN: GOD. That was a roller coaster of feels for me! Especially my seething hatred for Arthur's mom XD Ahem. Anyway. I want to give shout outs to HeCallsMeHisCHild, MidnightHaze, and pureflowersand2684 for using my bucketloads of foreshadowing to figure out what was to happen themselves. Thanks, guys! Well, other than that, I don't have much to say besides please review and let me know what you thought. Were you as pissed at Arthurs mother as I was? Let me know! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one! Adios!)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21- Never Ending Chaos**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own MSA Ghost or its characters, all of this belongs to MysteryBen27 and company. I merely own my ideas and a laptop to type them on. NOW GO ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**

**Note: Keep in mind that a lot of the English you see in this chapter is actually Italian being spoken by the characters. I just found it too weird to put everything in Italian and have to explain translations. Just keep in mind that there is a lot more Italian speaking than shown.**

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><p>"That," my mom sighed angrily, pointing to the purple handkerchief I wore around my neck, "Is not a formal tie! Didn't I tell you to change that before we left? Oh gosh, and I never even noticed this until we were almost there!"<p>

"I'm sorry I forgot, Mom! I was busy helping you make cannolis, remember?" I replied, nervously dusting off the black pants I wore with my formal vest. To be honest, I wasn't that sorry at all. The satin handkerchief fit much better with my plaid, purple vest than any other tie could. I was glad I went with the handkerchief and didn't regret it at all.

"I'm just trying to make you look presentable for the family." My mom stated, taking in a deep breath.

Every Thanksgiving, we would all gather at my cousin Alfonso's house, since they lived in an area filled with houses that were the equivalent sizes of baby mansions. They were enormous! On both the insides and outsides of the houses there, they were all extremely fancy. I was fairly stressed out, but excited because I was meeting up with my eccentric relatives again.

Both my mom's and dad's sides of the family would come for Thanksgiving because my parents' great grandparents were best friends, and after my parents got wed, the friendship turned into a family relationship, and we all got along incredibly well. There were barely ever serious fights in our family, and if there were, someone was always there to break it up quickly and peacefully.

"It doesn't matter now, Lucinda, we're already at my sister's house, so you might as well deal with it. Besides, he looks just fine!" My dad reassured her, pulling into the sectioned area of houses.

Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I quickly whipped it out, thinking it was a message from my cousin. But I knew I was wrong since Vivi's face was on the screen. Wouldn't she know not to text me on Thanksgiving? I sighed and began skimming through the message she sent me. "Hey Lew, I know that Thanksgiving isn't the right time 2 be texting u, but Arthur got grounded and he wanted 2 tell u that things r getting worse at his house."

I quickly scoured for the right keys on my phone, replying, "I'm sorry Vivi, I'll be back later but I have to go, at relative's house."

Before my parents could comment about my not getting out of the car, I shoved my phone in my pants pocket and unbuckled myself from the tight seatbelt.

We got out of the car and took out all of the food we prepared, along with birthday gifts for my favorite cousins, since their birthdays were yesterday. We walked through the brisk, chilly winds to get to the door, a tall fancy wooden door that I was barely taller than. The second my mom reached out to ring the doorbell, the door immediately swung open and we were greeted by a giddy dark haired woman with a few gray streaks in her hair.

My aunt Emilia beamed at us and exclaimed in surprise, "Hi! Oh my gosh, Lewis! You grew so much! Holy cow!"

Forcing a quick smile, I quickly entered the house and closed the door after everyone made it inside. We began taking off all of our coats and winter wear, handing it all off to my aunt Emilia. Before I could even kick my shoes off, a stampede of kids ran at me and nearly tackled me with hugs, screaming, "Lewis, you're finally here!" in fluent Italian.

I had tons of younger cousins, but in my intermediate family, there were five children under the age of ten. They all loved me because I would always play with them more than any of the other relatives my age did. They would follow me around for a while, then migrate to some other place in the house for a little while.

"Lewis, look! I finally learned how to do a cartwheel!" My eight year old cousin, Monica, screamed at the top of her lungs, trying her best to catch my attention. She then proceeded to perform a poorly coordinated cartwheel on the wooden floor, her thin purple locks becoming completely tangled.

I crossed my arms, teasing, "Oh yeah? I could totally do better!"

"I don't think so!" My uncle Roger, Emilia's husband, interrupted me in English, bringing me in closer for one of his classic bear hugs. "You'll break something, considering how dang tall you are! How tall are you now, son? Like six feet tall?"

"Six foot three," I corrected him, grinning sheepishly.

He pulled away, exclaiming, "Holy cow! You can't be serious! My, my! I'm surprised all the girls aren't after you! They just looooooove tall guys like you and I!"

Blushing madly, I replied, "Not really.. Girls at school don't really talk to me much."

"Heh, I beg to differ, especially with your face that red! But I'll drop that for now, bud, I gotta catch up with your parents." Uncle Roger said, leaving me to go find my mom and dad, who both wandered into the kitchen, where all of the adults usually gathered.

I barely even had another second to sigh before I felt someone grab at my neck from behind me. I whipped around, my face still beet red, knowing exactly who was behind me. I cursed, "_Madre di dio_, Alfonso!"

My sneaky older cousin popped out from behind the stair case, with a notably shit eating grin adorning his face. He snickered, running a hand through his dark fohawk. He sneered in Italian, "Man, I would've really had you if you weren't so damn tall! What did you do, put yourself through the taffy puller or something?"

"I don't know, puberty?" I shrugged, resting my elbow on Alfonso's shoulder. He used to do that to me all the time, back when he was taller, so I knew it would bother him for sure.

"Stop it!" He practically shrieked, turning away from me. "Dude…. Oh well. You want to go catch up with each other's lives and play video games?"

My youngest cousin, Sarah, tugged on my pant leg and asked, "Can I play too, Lew?"

Before I could reply, I heard a, "Not before giving a hug to us! Gee, you kids and your games! C'mon over here, all of you!"

We made our way to the living room, which was looking just as fancy as ever. My grandparents were all gathered on the brown leather couches, chatting by the giant fireplace. I quickly glanced up at the ceiling, where an enormous chandelier hung high, lighting up the whole room. My grandma Trinity welcomed me with open arms, a big smile on her wrinkly face.

"Oh, you're so much bigger! I thought you were just going to go play your games and forget to say hello to your grannie!" Trinity exclaimed in her usual raspy voice, planting a wet kiss on my cheek. She was practically squeezing me to death with the hug she was giving me. "You too, Alfonso! Get in here!"

Alfonso reluctantly embraced Grandma Trinity while my grandfather shouted, "Honey, you're hogging all of the boys to yourself! I need some love too, you know!"

I wriggled free from Trinity's iron grip and gave my grandfather Gio a light hug. My grandparents Gio and Trinity were on my dad's side of family, and by far, the most lively people in the whole house. The house was even livelier back when my other grandmother was still alive, but nonetheless, it was still exciting now, too. Rather than argue about politics or social media like the rest of the adults at gatherings, they would always have little conversations about the most ridiculous things. One constantly reoccurring topic was…

"_Lewis, hai una fidanzata_?" _Do you have a girlfriend now?_ Trinity asked impatiently. "I need more grandchildren, and let's face it, it's not like Alfonso's going to do anything with that girl of his own anytime soon!"

"Hey!" Alfonso hollered, laughing at Grandma Trinity's words.

My face quickly regained its blood red color. Twiddling my thumbs, I answered nervously, "N-n-no…? I'm not dating anyone, sorry."

I flinched as she practically yelled, "Relax, child! It's fine! I'm not going to hit you like your _Nonna_! Oi! Now go play with the kids! And don't forget to give your grandfather Matthew a kiss!" Trinity ordered, shooing me away from her as she began combing through her graying dark hair with her wrinkly fingers.

I quietly walked over to my grandfather Matthew, who was collapsed on the couch, snoring lightly. He looked older than ever. I thought back to the picture and tried not to frown, thinking about how much happier he was back then. I hugged him as light as possible, trying not to wake him up, and rushed over to Alfonso, following him up the stairs. We managed to sneak by without any of the younger kids knowing us and crept up the stairs.

I leaned over the high balcony by the edge of the hall and glanced down at my grandparents again before getting back on course and taking a left into Alfonso's bedroom. For being an untidy person, it was somewhat surprising that Alfonso's bedroom was always clean. It still showed his personality though, with a television and several video game cases in the corner and a whole shelf of manga and books on film next to it. Alfonso's twelve year old sister, Natalia, sat lounging on his bed, playing Mario Kart against my seventeen year old cousin, Dominic, and Alfonso's girlfriend Larissa.

"Ey, Lewis!" Larissa tucked a wavy strand of bleached blonde hair behind her ear, pausing the game to come give me a hug. "Long time, no see man!"

"It's only been since last Christmas," I informed her shyly, quickly setting my phone on Alfonso's nightstand before reaching in to give her a welcome hug.

"Who cares? I miss my adorable little cousin!" Larissa beamed, reaching up to tousle my hair and examining me gleefully with her muddy brown eyes.

"Uh, I hate to ruin the moment, but technically he's my cousin…" Alfonso pointed out, pulling his girlfriend off of me.

Natalia laughed, commenting in Italian, "If I hadn't known better, I would've assumed she was Lewis's girlfriend!"

"Watch it, Nat!" Alfonso shouted back, an expression of mocked anger on his face. I chuckled, taking a seat on the floor so I could grab a controller.

Larissa shook her head, saying, "You know, it would be nice if you all spoke a little English every now and then! Not everyone here is bilingual!"

Alfonso rolled his eyes and plopped down next to me, cracking a small smile. "So, who's up for a Mario Kart tournament?"

• • •

"_É merda testa_!" Dominic exclaimed furiously, throwing down his Wii controller. He pointed to Alfonse accusingly, growling, "I swear to god, you're hacking the game somehow!"

"Nope," he said, grinning, "You just suck at playing video games! And you're a sore loser, too!"

"That's so not true!" Dominic exclaimed, his reaction getting giggles out of Natalia and I. Larissa just sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes.

Alfonso's sneer grew even wider, teasing, "Waah! I'm Dominic and I blame other people for my horrible gaming skills!"

"Stop taunting him, jeez! Honestly, you're already twenty yet you never seem to change!" Larissa exclaimed, whacking her boyfriend lightly on the arm with her Wii controller.

Alfonso looked at her with a confused expression for a moment. "I'm twenty? I thought I was nineteen- OH that's right, our birthday was yesterday.."

"Oh that's right, you're two decades old now!" I exclaimed in realization. "Man, I even got you and Antonio presents and I forgot you were going on twenty!"

Alfonso gave me a mock expression of astonishment and betrayal. "Lewis… You forgot my twentieth birthday? After all we've been through? How could you!? Oh, I feel so unloved!"

"You forgot it too, you jackass! God, you're such a moron.." Larissa muttered angrily, rubbing her temples.

Wrapping an arm around her, my cousin flirted, "But I'm YOUR moron!"

Shaking her head, the two leaned in for a kiss but were interrupted by Natalia shouting obnoxiously, "Get a room, you two! Blergh, I'm out of here!"

Natalia nudged past us and stormed out of the room, her straightened plum purple hair flowing behind her. It was a bit of a common trait to have purple hair in our family, although not everyone had it. My relatives either had dark hair or the strange plum hue to their hair. Although now it was starting to become more of a dominant trait, especially with myself and a lot of the younger kids within the family.

But rarely anyone in the family tree had violet eyes like mine.

Dominic followed wordlessly, leaving his controller behind. He was probably going to check to see if dinner was ready yet.

"Well that was a bit new…" Larissa muttered, scratching her blonde head. "But typical for twelve year old behavior, I guess. Man, I was a terrible twelve year old…"

"How so?" I asked curiously.

"I went through a hilariously embarrassing goth phase. Like, I dyed my hair neon pink, wore all black, had raccoon eye eyeliner, all the classic stuff. I also acted like my dad was the cruelest person on the earth, which was totally not true at all. He was really cool then. I was just a complete brat. So there you have it, the most embarrassing years of my life." Larissa sighed exhaustedly.

"Wow. That must have been rough.. I guess I was okay when I was twelve." I told her in response, only for Alfonso to nudge in and interrupt me.

"You don't even know, dude. Lewis was a miserable kid at that age," Alfonso added. "He was about twelve when_ Nonna_ died, and he LOVED _Nonna_ so he took it really hard. I mean, he wasn't that bad for too long, but he would even cry at the mention of her after it first happened. She used to be really hard on him, but he was still depressed over her anyway. I was sad too, I guess, but I knew it was her time. Then Lew eventually simmered down after a while, but he was still really sad."

Larissa reached over and squeezed my cheek, cooing, "Aww, my poor little baby! Always so sad! Man, sometimes I forget you were even a little boy once…. When did I first meet the family, four years ago?"

"Yep, four years. Wow… It's been that long." Alfonso cleared his throat. "Anyway, how's life Lewis? Anything interesting?"

I answered sheepishly, "Not really. I made a few friends and we're all into reading and the horror genre, but other than that everything's been normal."

After chatting with Alfonso and his girlfriend for a while, I told them to continue playing Mario Kart while I went to the bathroom. I took a right down the hallway and ended up in a large bathroom with marble tile floors, a fountain-esqe sink, a giant jet equipped bath tub, and a fancy looking toilet.

I hummed and glanced around the sophisticated bathroom, my eyes falling on the clock hanging from the wall. I had already been here for an hour. The younger kids were bound to come drag me off with them any time soon, not that I minded. The girls, Monica, Sarah, and ten year old Gabi were all rambunctious, but were a bit more well behaved and sweet. My other two immediate cousins, Matt and Daniel, however, were way more troublesome and hyperactive than the girls were. They made everything interesting, but they were a thousand times more difficult to keep track of.

I heard a sudden bang from down the hall, followed by laughing, which indicated the kids were in fact, looking for me. With a long sigh, I got up to wash my hands under the warm, relaxing water, and left the bathroom. I began to walk steadily back to Alfonso's room when the phone rang. But not just any phone.

My phone.

I took off in a sprint and busted into Alfonso's room, accidentally bumping into Larissa as she headed to the bathroom, and tumbled on the bedroom floor. But I was already too late. Alfonso held my cell phone up to his ear, with a shit eating grin on his face. "Hello? Who's there?" He asked in Italian.

I could hear Vivi's confused voice over the device as clear as day. "Who is this? I'm looking for Lewis?"

I ran at Alfonso, trying to snatch my phone out of his hands, but he held me back, replying with a devilish smile, "Lewis? I don't know a Lewis! Who could you be, by chance? His girlfriend?"

"I'm sorry, what are you even saying? I only speak English you know!" Vivi informed him.

"Give me the phone, Al!" I shouted, managing to pin him down once more. He was great at keeping his hands out of my reach though, even with the huge height difference between him and I. I pinned his right arm down to the floor, the one holding my cell phone, and pried the device out of his hand.

Finally having my phone back in possession, I responded to Vivi, "I'm sorry, my cousin picked up the phone and he wouldn't give it back. What did you need really quickly?"

"It's Arthur! He was researching that Claude Wolfsfeld guy and his mom caught on and grounded him for 'being silly and making up lies.' But he managed to email me really quickly before his parents unplugged his computer. This Claude guy was apparently associated with a lot of gangs and spent some time in jail for causing violence and vandalism and stuff."

"Interesting…" I muttered. "Did you find anything else?"

"That's what I was about to say. He was in this really wacky occult gang that called themselves, 'The Hands of God.' They assumed they were being vigilantes and doing the Lord's work and stuff, but really all they did was cause trouble and dabble in human sacrifice. There's very little information on these people, but Arthur told me they would kill people and hack off their arms and gory things like that, but their preferred mode of sacrifice was suicide preaching." Vivi informed me, sighing over the phone.

"Suicide preaching…? Maybe it has something to do with that Julia person's death?"

"That's exactly what Arthur thought. He quickly went to research her too, but then his parents busted in and declared house arrest for three weeks. House arrest along with confiscating all of his paranormal equipment. Honestly, Arthur's parents act like they have sticks up their behinds! Don't tell him I said that." She spoke hesitantly.

I replied, "I feel bad for Arthur. His parents don't seem to agree with anything he enjoys, other than mechanics, maybe. Maybe I can look into it tomorrow, when we don't have anything to do. But for now, I have to go. Sorry…"

"It's fine, I understand you have family to spend time with! My brother's only been here for an hour and I already want to kick his pretentious butt right out of my house. He's so annoying! But yeah.. I'll let you be for tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!"

"You too, Vivi!" Silence. She has already hung up. Sighing, I turned off my phone and shoved it in my pocket. But I still had Alfonso's suspicion to deal with.

My cousin watched me with a questionable expression on his face. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked, his voice full of concern. "Suicide preachers?"

I could feel my face flare up from the embarrassment. I usually tried keeping friends, especially female friends, hidden from my family because they were all huge teasers. They were always curious to find out if I had a social life, since I had always been quite a distant person. And then there was Grandma Trinity with all of her girlfriend nonsense. She just desperately wanted more grandchildren. So it was best to keep my previously nonexistent social life and my family life separated.

"My friends are ghost fanatics," I explained sheepishly to my cousin. "And they were doing research on one of their houses because we're all 100% convinced it's haunted. So yeah, don't worry, we're not occultists or anything like that."

"That's exactly what an occultist would say! Nah, I'm kidding Lewis." Alfonso chuckled, reaching up to pat me on the shoulder. "Your friends sound fairly interesting though. Mind letting me in on this whole ghost thing? I promise I won't tell Grandma Trinity."

"Fine, but I'm not getting too much into detail." My cousin cheered quietly to himself and glanced back up at me with curious black eyes. With an exasperated sigh, I began, "My friends' names are Arthur and Vivi, in case you wanted to know, and we're all into the same stuff. Arthur's been telling us stories and stuff about his house… Well, _Nonna's_ house…."

Alfonso's eyes lit up with surprise. "No way! He lives in _Nonna's_ old house!? Damn… You're kidding!"

"No, you think I would kid about Nonna?"

"Good point… But wow, that's such a crazy coincidence! Man, and it's haunted too? By her?" He asked eagerly, tugging on my sleeve slightly.

"Maybe, we're not sure. There could be other ghosts living there too. Turns out, _Nonna's_ old home has a bit of a past. One that includes some pretty dark stuff. But anyway, we're trying to figure all of this out because we're thinking about starting a paranormal investigation group someday. It's Vivi's biggest dream and we figured, why not tag along? So yeah…. That's that…" I continued, my voice trailing off.

I expected a sarcastic reply from Alfonso, but was slightly surprised when one never came. He was thinking about something, but I couldn't tell what was on his mind. It was hard to tell what was running through my cousin's head at times. But suddenly, I had a feeling it was something devious as a mischievous grin spread over his face.

"Madre di dio, what now?" I asked, a pit forming in my stomach thanks to the smug look on his face.

"You guys should investigate the ancient house of horrors nearby my place." Alfonso suggested, grinning evilly.

"No way! Wouldn't we get arrested for breaking in? There's no way we could go there! Plus Arthur's currently grounded, so we can't exactly go as a full trio."

Laughing, Alfonso replied nonchalantly, "Dude, the place has been abandoned for at least seventy years, the law wouldn't care anymore! I bet you that people break in the place to see if they can witness the hauntings for themselves all the time! Remember when some of my friends searched the place?"

"Of course I remember that story, where your friends used a Ouija board in that place and almost got squished by that giant armoire. But still, we'd get in trouble with our parents! I'm pretty sure they don't want us running around in an abandoned house, especially a haunted one!"

"Well, I don't know about your parents, or your friends' parents, but I'm pretty sure mine won't care!" My cousin exclaimed, chuckling. "It could work! Me, you, the girl, and Arthur can go to the house and hold an investigation there. We can just tell the guy's parents that we're going black Friday shopping!"

Staring at my large feet, I muttered hesitantly, "I don't know… I could get in huge trouble. I mean, lying to Arthur's parents would be a really bad move, especially if we got caught. They would probably ban him from hanging out with me, if he could even go in the first place."

"Oh come on, stop being so worried! We're not going to get caught and we're sure as hell not going to get arrested! Just loosen up a bit! Don't you wanna do this? Go ghost hunting like you and your dorky friends fantasize about?"

I shook my head. I did want to go ghost hunting, but not with so many risks on the table. The whole thing could flop so easily if we weren't careful enough.

"Yeah, but my parents will say no and-"

"DINNER'S READY!" My aunt Emilia hollered in English from downstairs. "Come and get it!"

"I guess we'll just have to find out what your parents think about this…!" Alfonso exclaimed devilishly before taking off and bolting down the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Eyy! I just got back from vacation... Although it didn't exactly feel like much of a vacation, besides going to the pool at the hotel, but I still had time to relax anyway. But now I'm back, so here's chapter 20! It's kind of short compared to what I had in mind, but there's a lot more so yeah... *shrugs* I wrote most of this chapter on the highway, so yeah, that was fun. We got pulled over by this lady cop at one point though, and almost got a speeding ticket. I was VERY confused. And I thought the lady cop was hot xD ANYWAY, just to officially let y'all know, there will be a sequel to this story, still thinking of a title, but yep! Sequel confirmed! I don't exactly believe the events of the sequel could actually happen after the events in the video, but it's more of a 'what if,' kind of thing. I'm not saying the story's almost over though, if anything, it just begun. Even though I'm alrady 20 chapters in... My god, this is going to be a gigantic story, isn't it? Oh well. So, if you liked this chapter, please review and tell me what you think! And I'll see YOU in the next chapter. Bye bye!)**


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